DCSO taking over sno-park permit enforcement

(Update: OSP says why it dropped sno-park enforcement)

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office said Friday it has entered into an agreement with the Oregon Department Of Transportation to provide sno-park parking permit enforcement.

Oregon’s sno-park program is funded entirely by the sale of sno-park permits. The program provides funds for snow removal in sno-parks, as well as maintenance and development of sno-parks, said Lt. Bryan Husband, special services coordinator with the sheriff’s office.

Husband said it’s the first such agreement with DCSO, as Oregon State Police has provided snow-park enforcement in the past, but discontinued it last year. He said the agreement is for ODOT to pay the sheriff’s office up to $7,200 a year for the winter-season service.

Asked about the decision to drop enforcement of sno-park permits, OSP Lt. Cari Boyd gave NewsChannel 21 this statement:

“Currently, OSP is holding 60 vacancies due to budget constraints and our trooper strength is unfortunately at 1969 levels. With those numbers, we were unable to fulfill certain contracts, and sno-parks was one of those contracts.

“Our troopers still have the authority to cite for a sno-park violation if they see it,” Boyd added, “but our focus is on transportation safety ,and we do not want to pull our limited troopers from that important mission.”

Costs of the permit vary from $4 to $25, depending upon if you are purchasing a one-day, three-day or season permit.

Permits can be purchased at any DMV office or at any of the vendors listed at the following link: http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/docs/sno_park_vendor_list.pdf. Sales agents may charge an additional service fee for each permit they sell. Oregon sno-park permits are also honored in Idaho and California.

Valid sno-park permits must be displayed near the lower left (driver’s side) corner of the vehicle windshield when parking in a designated winter recreation parking area (Sno-Park) between November 1st and April 30th.

“The goal of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is to achieve voluntary compliance from those recreating at one of our many winter recreation areas,” Husband said in Friday’s news release. “However, parking in an Oregon sno-park without a permit may result in a $30 fine.”