If you park at the beach longer than you're allowed this summer, you may get ticketed or towed.

Westport Beach Committee members are considering instituting a $100 fine and other penalties for beach lovers who park at Cherry & Webb Beach after the 8 p.m. closing time, once the season officially opens Saturday, June 19.

Though they took no formal vote on the matter, chairman Sean Leach said it's time to put more teeth into the committee's power to enforce parking regulations. After hours parking is rampant, he said.

"There's a $50 fine if you park without a sticker, but nobody gets ticketed or anything if they're there after hours," Leach said at the committee's most recent meeting.

He goes down there many evenings right before closing time, and often reminds lingerers that they need to be out by eight. There are also plenty of signs noting closing time.

"Some people are very reasonable, some people could care less. I try to be nice. I understand ... especially in July and August, when the sun sets at 8:30."

He and other committee members said a $100 fine would be reasonable, as would be the possible loss of one's beach sticker.

Side-by-side

Committee members will put a warrant article appropriating up to $40,000 for a new vehicle on the Town Meeting ballot, after learning earlier this month that the town's current truck has major mechanical issues and essentially is "DOA," according to Leach.

"We're talking thousands of dollars" to repair the truck, he said. "We've got plenty of duct tape to keep it going, but ..."

While it's clear a new truck is needed, there are a few possibilities, Leach said, and he and other committee members are considering replacing it with a 'side-by-side,' a small four-wheel-drive vehicle designed for off-road use and harsh environments. New side-by-sides run around $11,000, and storing Westport's in a self storage pod near the Dumpster at the end of Cherry & Webb Lane would cost the town about $600 or $700 per season.

While replacing a street legal truck with an off-road side-by-side could present logistical issues, Leach said it's an idea worth considering, as current prices for new and low mileage used trucks are through the roof.

Another option is giving the highway department $20,000 for one of its trucks, "and they take the $20,000 and use it to buy a new truck for themselves."

Still, Leach and other committee members are leaning toward a side-by-side, and will research the issue as they draw up the $40,000 warrant article.

Lifeguard pay

Westport lifeguards could get a bump in pay this summer, as Leach said "it's going to be tough" to find them given the rate paid by other beaches, including Horseneck, where guards earn $21 per hour. Westport pays in the $15 range.

"We're going to have to be competitive," he said.

As far as the number of guards who need to be hired, "we need eight for enough; nine better."

The possible pay hike wasn't unexpected, Leach said.

"We built in extra money into the budget this year to do that."