Wednesday, July 21, 2004

New park fees drubbed

Special event leaders seek waivers from Hailey council

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By MATT FURBER
Express Staff Writer

Special event organizers petitioned the Hailey City Council for waivers on new fees instituted this month for the use of city parks.

Groups requesting relief for fees set at $500 per day include the Northern Rockies Folk Festival, the Run, Rod & Cruise car show and the Trailing of the Sheep Festival.

According to the ordinance, the fees include an additional $125 application fee and a $500 damage deposit, but the per diem fee does not go into effect until October.

Tom Smith, executive director of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, said he agreed that Hailey parks need more funding, but he admonished the council to give parks a long term view and not establish a "short term fix" with the fees.

"On the Fourth of July people kept coming up and complaining about the conditions of the bathroom facilities," Smith said. "I had to buy the toilet paper. There are no restrooms at (Roberta) McKercher Park. The chamber paid $745 for Porta Potties and garbage service.

"Do some real planning for the future. Don’t just look at the immediate budget problems."

Smith is concerned that faced with the new fees special event organizers would look elsewhere for venues.

"You’re driving the business away with fees like that," he said.

Organizers of the Run, Rod & Cruise event, scheduled for the end of August, not an official nonprofit event, would be required to pay the $500 daily fee this year. They said the event would continue this year, with or without a waiver, but would make no commitment to Hailey if the fees continued.

In terms of impacts on parks by special events, Smith said he doubted the groups deserved to shoulder the burden since volunteers typically do a good job policing the events and don’t incur additional impacts for the city.

"What services are we getting?" Smith asked, decrying the condition of park facilities. "We are being asked to pay $500 per day for what? I have people that will not use the restrooms in Hop Porter Park."

Mayor Susan McBryant explained that the decision to institute the fees was also a matter of fairness to citizens who are unable to use city parks for simple recreation because they are already booked.

Council President Rick Davis said the level of support for special events surprised him.

"I had no idea this ordinance we passed would create so much chaos or public comment," he said. He said Hailey citizens told him they would want to subsidize water and power services for special nonprofit events. Citizens expressed to him that people would rather have lesser service in the parks than lose the events.

"It was totally opposite to what I though I would hear," he said.

Currently, the city budgets only 28 hours per week of city staff time and $32,000 annually in subcontracts for maintenance of nine parks.

Smith said rather than look to park fees as a panacea for maintaining city parks, the city could look to establishing a local option tax (LOT), something the chamber and visitor’s center would help promote, acting as the marketing arm for tourism in the city.

"We could start with a percentage tax on lodging," he said.

Idaho statutes allow communities with populations under 10,000 citizens to declare themselves resort communities and ask the voters to approve a non-property tax. Like Ketchum, Sun Valley, Driggs, Sandpoint and Coeur D’ Alene, Hailey could benefit from the taxes the other cities collect, Smith said. "They collect them in a variety of different ways. What we are proposing is really an answer for the city."

The funds could even go to supporting a land fund for future parks and help pay for the development of parks already being planned, Smith said.

The proposal did receive wide support from business owners and city council alike. If pursued, a LOT plan would require a super majority of 60 percent of voters to be approved.

"Those are big issues and I am glad the council is listening," Smith said. "We want better parks and I think this is a way to get them."

Those opposed to the fees addressed the City Council Monday at a budget workshop on proposed fees in other departments. City department heads gave presentations of their fee proposals.

The city is trying to find ways to streamline budget items by identifying points where demand for city services are heavily impacted, especially by development.

Most people assembled at Monday’s meeting came to react to the park fees ordinance. In an effort to get public comment before setting any other fees the council decided to continue the hearing until Monday, July 26. No citizens were present to comment on fees proposed by fire and emergency services, building and public works departments.

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