Minutes - Council Work Session - 07/26/2016

Home

Acting Mayor LeTourneau stated that the Council will take action on this item at the meeting tonight. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the recommendation would be to extend the contract one year to 2017. 2.02: City of Ramsey Facility Use and Rental Policy Updates Public Information and Events Specialist Wenberg reviewed the staff report. Councilmember Riley stated that this appears to relate to $6,000 over a whole year and asked if this would create more work than necessary. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood asked if there should be no fee to make booking easier or whether this is inconsequential because of the low amount. Councilmember Riley stated that the City is clearly not doing this to make money and asked if the intent is to cover the administrative time. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that if there is not a fee associated with it, people tend to overbook and book services that they do not need. He noted that if there is a $10 fee, a nonprofit will not book a conference room as a placeholder. He stated that the attempt is to align the fees with the real cost and not dip into the general fund to cover those fees. Councilmember Kuzma asked if the $5 or $10 increase will cover the costs of the City. Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama referenced page five of the policy which breaks down the list of fees. He noted that five years ago the fee list was updated to match the budget needs. He noted that the true cost of the rooms and space would be found under the non -Ramsey business. He explained that a subsidized rate was created for non -profits and Ramsey organizations or businesses. He noted that the increase would cover the cost to process the payments. He stated that when the fees were set in place there was no opposition to the fees and did not believe that there would be opposition to the increase. He noted that although the fee would not cover the entire cost, this would help to recoup come of the building maintenance costs and/or staff time. Councilmember Kuzma stated that he has mixed thoughts on raising the fee rate. He stated that it seems that raising the fee would be almost inconsequential in terms of the budget but could have an impact on non -profits. He stated that perhaps the non-profit rate remains the same and the increase be made to the business rates. Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama stated that the majority of the room rentals are non-profit community organizations and did not see the math supporting that request to raise only business rates. He noted that if there is a $5 fee to process the payment, the City is not gaining any amount by charging only $5. City Council Work Session / July 26, 2016 Page 3 of 6