JIM THORPE, Pa. — People know they'll have to find parking and pay for it when visiting downtown Jim Thorpe.
Randall Sellers, owner of Sellers Books, says the issue impacts tourists and those who live and work downtown.
"I have employees coming in from Orwigsburg, Normal Square, and weatherly, and I also have employees in the East Side and the Heights, and they need places to park, and so they pay out of pocket to park, and it does cost them," Sellers said.
Sellers' employees may soon have to pay even more to park. The borough is proposing raising the cost of parking on the street from $1 to $2 an hour, Monday through Thursday, and $3 an hour on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The cost is much higher if you use your credit card or the cell phone app.
Borough officials say the last time fees were increased was prior to 2018.
Business owners are worried the potential change might drive customers away.
"I love when locals come in, and I've built a relationship with lots of local customers, and we have lost a lot of them with the parking increases, and we'd love to have them back," Sellers said.
Jim Pompa owns a record store in the borough. He also attends St. Mark's and St. John's Episcopal Church on Race Street. He says it already costs people a pretty penny to attend services.
"Right now, it's only a buck an hour, a buck and a quarter an hour, so they'd be going from like a max of like $2.50 to attend church to $6 or $7 just to go to church if they could not get a spot in the lot that the county works with us. So that's our concern."
Business owners in the borough say the new proposed parking fee would impact not only their employees and local residents but also tourists.
"I think they're overreaching with how much they want to raise the rate," Sellers added. "That will drive away tourists, and that will bring back fewer returning customers, and they're the ones who buy the houses here, which is the way tourism powers the local economy. So, we want everybody to come."
Jim Thorpe Borough Council has not yet passed the ordinance to increase parking fees. Another meeting to discuss the ordinance is scheduled for Thursday. If it passes, the new fees are likely to take effect in May.