The Warrior Way Paid Parking Program had another successful summer charging nonresident beachgoers for parking at the location bringing a revenue of $160,201.67.
During the Nov. 20 Douglas County School Board meeting, Community Services Director Brook Adie and Deputy Director Ryan Stanton, presented the board about the program and awarded the district’s cut of its profit earned. School board trustees approved an interlocal contract between Douglas County and the school district for The Warrior Way Paid Parking Program, which begins June 1, 2026, through Oct. 1, 2031.
The Zephyr Cove parent Group/Whittell Boosters had already been volunteering and managing the parking at Warrior Way prior to connecting with the County to create a program that could help the schools at the Lake, the district, and Douglas County.
Adie said the program came before the school board in 2023 from Douglas County Assistant Manager Scott Morgan as an idea to implement a parking program on Warrior Way at Zephyr Cove Park, Zephyr Cove Library, Zephyr Cove Elementary School, and Whittell High School to help offset some of the issues that were happening at the Zephyr Cove resort.
“In 2023 there was significant use at the beach, including a lot of garbage, and we made national news for the issues that were happening at the beach, and we figured we needed to step in and do something,” said Adie.
Adie said the parking program was designed to accomplish several things, especially to enhance user experience at the beach and work toward helping with some of the capacity issues, sanitation, and garbage.
The pilot program in 2024 brought in $153,730.24, which was split between Zephyr Cove Parent Group/ Whittell Boosters with $30,000; Douglas County School District $40,834.18, and Douglas County Community Services with $40,834.17.
This year, the program saw a total of 4,183 cars parked, marking a 20.6 percent increase from 2024.
Douglas County residents took advantage of the parking, increasing by 62.74 percent of resident usage with 984 locals parked at the location.
Despite the increase in parking, volunteer participation from the parent club and boosters from Zephyr Cove Elementary School saw a decline. Total volunteer hours decreased 37.26 percent from the previous year, amounting to 163.75 hours.
The parent group has historically managed parking at Warrior Way, which has served as a significant fundraiser for their activities.
“This longstanding involvement has been crucial in supporting various programs, and the current rate was determined based on the historical revenue generated by these groups,” said Adie.
Financially, the program reported total expensed of $31,454.32 against the total $160,201.67 revenue, resulting in a net profit of $128,747.35.
The distribution of the profit was allocated as follows; $30,000 to the Zephyr Cove Parent Group/ Whittell Booster, and $49,683.05 each to the Douglas County School District and Douglas County Community Services.
