Continued Discussions Regarding Municipal Center Rental Fees

The purpose of this work session is to continue discussions regarding revised conference room rates at City Hall and to review the revised draft policy.

The attached draft policy includes the following changes to be considered by the City Council.

• Revised rates, including changing from a flat fee structure to charging hourly with a two-hour minimum rental
• A streamlined rate structure as it relates to types of renters
• The addition of the Mississippi River Room
• New language to be discussed related to Conference Rooms not being used for banquet purposes
• New stand-alone City Hall Conference Room Policy (reasoning listed below)

Staff would like final direction on Candidate Forums.  It was suggested in an earlier discussion that any Candidate Forum held at City Hall be open to the public if they are receiving the space at no charge.  Typically, these forums are held in the Chamber which is not available for rent by the public.  

When this policy was discussed in November, Parks and Interim Assistant Public Works Director Mark Riverblood stated the current policy, which combines City Hall rental with Parks rental, is cumbersome.

This matter was discussed with all Staff involved, including Building Maintenance Supervisor Dan Bray, City Administrator Brian Hagen, City Engineer/Interim Public Works Director Bruce Westby, Receptionist Pam Miller, and Public Works Administrative Assistant MaryJo Warner; all agreed that a new stand-alone policy would be an operational improvement  for both Staff and the public.  Note: The attached draft policy excludes all references to City Park rental. 

Up to ten minutes may be needed to provide the background on this topic, and perhaps up to 10 minutes may be needed to respond to questions.

No funding is required for consensus direction on this topic—rather, there will be a modest revenue increase for 2023 for room reservations.

Administrative Services Director, Colleen Lasher
Building Maintenance Supervisor, Dan Bray

To receive City Council feedback regarding new draft rental rates and draft City Hall Conference Room Rental Policy for possible adoption at the next City Council meeting.