Those wishing to use local parks to hold an event will now find it cheaper to do so.
Before a policy change approved at the Sept. 24 council meeting, those wishing to rent the park would have to pay $105 for youth activities, $131.25 for adult activities, and $577.50 for out-of-town or commercial activities.
“The problem we’ve had, more often than not, is people phoning in, finding out what the rate was and then using the park on their own separately, without booking it,” said Michael Ulriksen, the leisure services director.
“We want to move away from that. Basically, what we want to be able to do is know what’s going on in our community so we can promote what’s going on in our community and then we can attract people using the parks.”
Instead of a rental fee, park users will now pay for a permit, which costs $25 for an event up to 500 people, $50 for one up to 3,000 people and $100 for one with more than 3,000 people. Ulriksen said the fee will cover the cost of city staff talking to organizers to find out what they are doing and what their needs are.
