Booster club against parking tax

Saturday, 12 July 2003

The athletic booster club for Sandusky City Schools is the latest organization that is arguing against the city of Sandusky's parking tax, according to the Sandusky Register.

"(The parking tax) is unfair, unreasonable and completely unnecessary," said James Hart, a board member of the Blue Streak Boosters Club, told the Register.

Cedar Point is protesting the tax because no other entity in Sandusky will contribute much to the $600,000 the city plans to bring in per year. The park says the tax is discriminatory and has plans to sue the city.

"We have not yet filed the lawsuit, and we have no timetable for doing so. However, I can tell you that the lawsuit is imminent," Cedar Point spokeswoman Janice Witherow told the Register.

The boosters sent a letter to the city commissioners saying their non-profit organization should not be subject to the tax. The club asks for a $1 donation to those who park in a designated lot at home football games. There is no obligation to pay the $1.

The club collects about $40-$50 for each home game in donations. For the season, the booster club's share of the tax would be around $17.

"It is ridiculous," Hart told the Register. "It is taking the money out of the hands of high school students who need it."