We spent Saturday on the lake (Perry, northeast of Topeka, KS). Had a great time. It was only the 2nd time we've been able to get the boat wet once school started. The water was very cold and even muddier than usual, thanks in part to the 15'-high flood that took place there most of the season (this was also the first time the water has been low enough for us to use this lake the whole season).
We got off the lake at around 9:00pm, only to find tickets on both our vehicles. The ramp we use is part of a Kansas State Park (KDWP). They normally have a daily-use vehicle fee to be in the park and/or use their facilities. They have a self-pay station at the ramp which we've always used. When we arrived on Saturday, we went to the self-pay station with our checkbook, took two envelopes out of the kiosk - and couldn't find the amount due anywhere. It's been over a year since we used this ramp, couldn't remember how much the fee used to be and couldn't know whether it had changed. The info normally posted in the station was gone (either intentionally or by the floods, not sure which), BUT the self-pay envelopes were there, and were fresh (clearly not there during the flood). I took a pic of the self-pay station before we left:
Since the station was open (not chained off as they normally are when out of commission), and had no sign saying to use a different station, etc., we figured either of two things was happening. Either 1) since it's so late in the season and the ramp has been unusable for nearly the whole season, a decision had been made to not collect fees for ramp use, or 2) that if they were going to leave anything on our cars, it would simply be a note with the amount that needed to be paid, which I'd happily pay.
Instead, we found tickets, with a fine of $19.70 per vehicle - $40 in fines because they didn't have any information posted about the requirements - along with a notice that failure to pay within 48 hours would result in a court summons.
It seems to me that if an officer is available to go around writing tickets, he or she could bring along a stapler and put up a notice about the fees (as had always existed in the past).
It wasn't lost on me that the back of each ticket was a notice: "Park Office will void this vehicle ticket if a State Park Annual Vehicle Permit is purchased within 48 hours." Legalized extortion IMO.
Of course no one is available by phone today and probably not tomorrow (the lake is an hour away), so I get to spend the rest of my holiday weekend worrying about having to take time off work to defend myself in court.
Thoughts?
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