Festival parking spat goes on — and on

The spat between the Greater Mandeville Seafood Festival and Recreation District #1 over the price of parking goes on. The festival’s board of directors now has unanimously voted against paying $11,600 for festival goers to park in the Pelican Park public lot during the four-day charity event that begins July 2. So what does that mean for tens of thousands of visitors? A note on the Mandeville Seafood Festival web site says simply, “NO Parking at Pelican Park.” Last year, Recreation District #1 charged the festival $1,965.50 to keep the lot open an extra two hours each night. This year, the agency wanted $28,925 — a fee it later dropped to $11,600 plus unspecified expenses after outrage ensued. A news release that Greater Mandeville Seafood Association President Bill Dobson sent to media this week characterizes the Recreation District price hike as a “bait and switch tactic which offered reasonable rental rates in 2008 and attempted a surprising 2000% increase for the 2009 event.” Writes Dobson: “The Recreation District #1 Board of Directors have absolutely breached their original commitment to the festival and through exorbitant monetary demands are attempting to deny public access to a public facility.” The Mandeville Seafood Festival — now in its 31st year — donates all of its proceeds to local charities. More than $1 million has gone to groups like Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Treatment Center, the St. Tammany Association of Retarded Citizens, Hope House Children’s Advocacy Center and the American Heart Association’s St. Tammany chapter. At a recent public meeting, Recreation District #1 insisted it is bound by law to charge fair market value for parking.