BARNSTABLE – Barnstable County Commissioners voted unanimously yesterday to fund the maintenance of the Route 6 Eastbound Rest Area in Barnstable through the end of the summer season.
The commissioners approved up to $40,000 in funds from the Cape and Islands License Plate program to clean the restrooms and maintain the facility.
The rest area was set to be funded by the county from Memorial Day weekend through the end of June, but maintenance costs were left out of the budget for Fiscal year 2018.
The Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce, which operates the visitor center at the rest area, requested the funding to keep the facility open through Columbus Day.
“The rest area is about providing an amenity for all of the visitors here on Cape Cod,” said Mary Vilbon, the Yarmouth Chamber’s executive director. “The bigger issue here is that we are promoting and marketing the small businesses that need that support.”
The visitor center saw more than 40,000 guests during the tourist season last year and a record 897 people in one eight-hour shift.
An estimated 80,000 people use the restrooms at the rest area each year.
“Over the past several years the number of people that visit the rest area has increased dramatically,” said Jim Saben, the president of the Yarmouth Chamber.
Cape Cod Economic Development Council chair Felicia Penn said the money could be better spent.
“The Hyannis Artist Shanties, the plan for armory use, the alleyway beautification, Commercial Culinary Kitchen, Walkway to the Sea and the GIZ (Downtown Hyannis Growth Incentive Zone) all came from license plate money,” Penn said. “Looking at the big picture the EDC believes the money is better spent on those kinds of projects versus cleaning bathroooms.”
Penn said there are alternatives for travelers as the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce runs a visitor center in on Patti Paige Way in Centerville, which is open year-round and is supported by license plate funds.
Saben said it is so much more than just keeping bathrooms open.
“[It’s] presenting a positive image to our visitors who come to the Cape and I think it’s important we don’t lose track of that,” Saben said.
The funding, approved unanimously by the Commissioners, is just for the 2017 tourist season and many agreed a long-term funding solution needs to found.
Vilbon said she is in discussions with the County Administrator Jack Yunits and Stephen Tebo, the director of the county’s Facilities Department to try to find a long-term solution.
“I don’t want to be here before you every year,” she said. “All of our chamber directors that are here want a long-term solution for the businesses we represent and we thank the county for that because they do have a bigger broader plan in place. It’s just we need this time to help our businesses get through.”
County Commissioner Mary Pat Flynn said the rest area has been an issue since she became a commissioner in 2008.
“You have the federal, state and county all involved in this piece of property,” Pat Flynn said. “The feds own the land. The state owns the buildings and the county operates the buildings. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do, but the county always has to come up with the money.”
Several officials from local Chambers of Commerce spoke in favor of the funding, but also agreed a long-term solution is needed.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
