City looks at cost of public events in parks

Sisters City Council is looking at how much it actually costs the City of Sisters when events use City parks.

At last week's workshop, Council revisited the fee schedule for public events held in Sisters parks. This is a discussion that has been ongoing as part of the review of licensing for public events and transient merchants.

Council had directed staff to analyze the actual costs to the City, compared to the existing fees being charged applicants who wish to hold a public event, to be certain the taxpayers are not underwriting the costs of those events. Staff determined that the fees were not adequately covering the costs.

There are several different expenses connected to public events held in the City. The initial expense is for staff time to process the applications and conduct any follow-up inquiries. The largest and most evident actual cost is that of the labor performed by the public works staff as they do any necessary set-up, moving of existing City materials (benches, tables, etc.), and clean-up.

For large events, like the Sisters Folk Festival, there is also considerable repair and restoration work of the lawn and landscaped areas due to heavy traffic concentration and the placements of the large performance tent as well as small vendor tents in Village Green Park. Lawn areas generally need restoration by reseeding, watering, and fertilizing to bring back the grass, requiring significant staff time.

There are also "soft costs" indirectly associated with an event, such as the general maintenance of the parks, that can't be broken out and charged directly to events. These include the mowing, fertilizing, and watering that occur throughout the growing season. There is also the cost of restroom maintenance and supplies, and the use of equipment. Most of these costs are fluid, depending on the temperature at the time of the event and the size and type of event being held.

After conducting analysis, using data from public events at Creekside Park and Village Green Park, Public Works Director Paul Bertagna reported that the cost for public works amounted to approximately $940 for a large event. That amount would be in addition to the staff time to process the application and set-up.

Staff recommended a new fee schedule in which there would be different fees for nonprofit events as compared to for-profit organizations and fees based on the size of an event. Naturally, small public events would be charged lower park fees because of significantly less impact on the facilities and grass.

At any time, residents may use the parks for small events like birthday parties, reunions, and picnics without obtaining a license or paying any fee. By paying a fee, the entire park is reserved and not shared with any other event.

Details of the new fee schedule will be finalized by staff and brought before the Parks Advisory Board and then City Council for their approval.