Rockville Centre to raise cost of commuter parking at St. Agnes field

In an effort to offset the nearly $68,000 yearly lease for the St. Agnes municipal parking field, the Rockville Centre village board voted on July 20 to install machines and charge individuals $4 a day to park in the lot. This new daily fee will be in addition to the village parking permit already required to use the lot.

According to village spokesman Jeff Kluewer, the lease of the field first came about 10 years ago when extra commuter parking was needed in the vicinity of the train station. Only Rockville Centre residents who have a valid parking permit are allowed to use the lot. The permits cost $150 and are valid for one year.

“The permit fee of $150 times the 100 spaces meant that the village was subsidizing the parking in the [St. Agnes] Parking Field,” Kluewer explained. “The purpose of the $4 per day charge is to recoup that lease money. Those who want the convenience of parking near the station will now have to pay extra for it.”

Until the new machines arrive and are installed and activated, which Kluewer expects will be sometime this fall, the current parking fee will remain in effect.

While the current lease on the parking lot will expire on Aug. 31, the village will renew the agreement with St. Agnes for another 10 years. The final version of has not yet been signed, and Kluewer said that the parties are still working out the details. Under the tentative agreement, lease payments will increase in increments, beginning at $62,750 in the first two years and finishing at $68,600 for the final two years.