Port Jefferson gets parking meter app

Paying for parking in Port Jefferson? There's an app for that -- soon.

The Port Jefferson village board voted at Monday night's meeting in favor of contracting with MobileNOW! Llc to provide the village with an app that will allow drivers to pay their meter fees via cellphone.

The contract will cost the village nothing. Drivers can download the app for free, then pay a 40-cent surcharge each time they use the app to pay for meter parking.

The contract runs only one year because, according to trustee Laurence LaPointe, "the technology will change" and the board can re-evaluate next year.

The vote for the contract, save for absent trustee Lee Rosner, was unanimous.

The board voted in May to hire Metric Group of Mount Laurel, N.J., to install 22 new meters in the village, as well as provide new software for existing village meters to accept payment by phone or handheld device.

The cost will be about $157,000 for the new meters, $2,500 for the software and $8,800 for bases for the meters.

The 22 new meters are expected to be installed by the beginning of October.