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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — AUGUST 15, 2011 6 Mayor Grant stated he would like to know where the City "set itself' with regard to market rate pay rates. After reviewing that information, he may have no objection to the 1% increase being proposed. He asked Staff to add the proposed increase to the Council's August 29th agenda. C. 2011 Fee Schedule Discussion City Administrator Klaers explained that at their January 18, 2011, work session, the Council had expressed concerns regarding certain fees in the 2011 schedule. The 2011 Fee Schedule was adopted but the Council indicated that they wanted to review the schedule in more detail at a work session. Parks and Recreation Manager Olson explained that the Council and the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC) set 2011 goals for the PTRC. One of the goals was to review and analyze the impact of establishing a fee structure for park field use in the City. She explained that the Council indicated they would like to expand that research to include the City park rental fee structure. Therefore, Staff researched three areas of fees for the PTRC to review: youth field use, adult intramural field use, and park rentals. Parks and Recreation Manager Olson explained that Staff researched park rental fees for surrounding cities and organizations. She found a wide variety of fees based on the type of facility and that every city charged some fee. She also assessed the costs incurred for clean -up after a typical rental. She explained that she typically budgets to bring in approximately $2,500 in park rental fees each summer. The City currently has four fee categories: Resident, Non- Resident, Resident Non - Profit, Other Non - Profit. She enumerated the following factors to consider when evaluating our park rental fee structure: • All cities /organizations studied charge for park rentals. • Many cities /organizations no longer use the non - profit category as it can be confusing. • Maintenance costs are high due to preparation and clean -up. Parks and Recreation Manager Olson further explained that the PTRC reviewed the information she had gathered and determined that our current fee structure is fair. The PTRC is recommending to Council that the non - profit fee category be eliminated which would result in only two categories, resident or non - resident. Councilmember Holmes suggested that the non - profit category remain but that the City require proof that a renter is actually non - profit and that the rental is for a non - profit event. City Administrator Klaers commented that we shouldn't make the park rental process too difficult from an administrative point. Councilmember Tamble stated that he believes it would be fair to simply charge a flat fee for park rental regardless of non - profit status since the difference between the current non - profit and straight rates is minimal.