PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WBTW) – You may soon have to pay to park at the beach in one South Strand town.

Town leaders have discussed the idea of paid parking in the largest lot on the southern end of the island. The mayor of Pawleys says Georgetown County doesn’t pay its fair share. Even though the lot is within town limits, the county owns it, but Pawleys covers most of the costs.

The parking lot is quiet in February, but check back in a few months.

“In the summer, you have to circle quite a bit or you have to go up to the north end of Pawleys to find a place to park,” said Robbie Russell-Jones, a Murrells Inlet resident who has visited Pawleys for 10 years. “It’s really hard to find a place to park.”

The lot is free, but that could change. On Monday, town council discussed asking Georgetown County to add parking fees.

Mayor Jimmy Braswell says the town spends about $10,000 each summer to hire temporary police officers to patrol the lot.

“We don’t mind patrolling it if they’ll pay for the patrol because things will get jammed up, we have fights down there,” mayor Braswell said.

Mayor Braswell says the town also ends up paying for maintenance and storm repairs.

“When we’ve had hurricanes, the steps that go down to the beach, we’re the ones who have had to replace that and we’re doing a lot to that lot that we shouldn’t,” he said.

Pawleys has also purchased cameras for the parking lot. The mayor says the county does pay for portable toilets and garbage collection.

This comes as Pawleys prepares to pay for next offseason’s beach renourishment project with accommodations tax savings and possibly a grant from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“We’ve got to keep our beach to keep our tourist dollars,” Braswell said.

Some say it’s a good idea to fund the lot.

“There’s nothing wrong with paying for parking,” said Evan Davis, who lives in Myrtle Beach. “You’re only talking about a couple dollars. It pays for the maintenance for this.”

Others say it could change what makes Pawleys special.

“There’s a lot of places you to have to pay to stay,” Russell-Jones said.

Mayor Braswell says it’s way too early to see how much parking would cost.

The mayor also says he and other town leaders plan to meet with the county’s administrator to talk about funding options for the parking lot.