Marble Falls council gets first look at proposed park facility fees
The city of Marble Falls is almost finished with renovations to a building near Westside Park that will be used as a cost-effective alternative to Lakeside Pavilion. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls City Council, on the first reading, passed updated rental fees for parks and recreation department facilities during its regular meeting Oct. 20.
Those fees are for Westside Park Community Hall and pavilions and Johnson Park softball field, amphitheater and pavilions.
A second reading and vote are scheduled during the council’s regular meeting Nov. 3.
Parks and Recreation Director Robert Moss presented the recommended fees to the council including the new Westside Park Community Hall, which is nearing completion.
The fee for the hall would be $150 for residents and $300 for nonresidents with a four-hour minimum. Each additional hour would be $25 for residents and $30 for nonresidents. Renters would pay an additional refundable facility deposit of $150 for events without alcohol and $300 for events with alcohol.
Westside Park pavilions fees would be $10 per hour up to a $100 maximum. Currently, the rent is $25.
The rental fees for Johnson Park pavilion, softball park and amphitheater are currently at $25 with unlimited use, which was set in 1994.
The proposed fees to council are:
• amphitheater and pavilions – $10 per hour up to a $100 maximum for each;
• ball park – $10 per hour up to a $100 maximum and a stadium lighting fee of $7.50 per hour. Currently, the rent is $25 and the use of lights is free. For tournaments, the recommendation is $200 for a maximum of three days including the use of stadium lights. Currently, there is no fee to have a tournament at the park.
The council conducted a public hearing to allow citizens to voice their opinions on the proposed fees. “There were no comments from the public,” Moss said. “There was very little discussion from the city council.”
He said he believes the recommended fees are fair to residents and taxpayers.
During their regular meeting Oct. 5, parks and recreation commissioners discussed recommending rental fees that families on tight budgets could afford.
Moss said his office has received numerous calls from people who want to know the cost of renting the new Westside Park facility, which is designed for smaller gatherings such as exercise classes, birthday and retirement parties, showers or events that won’t draw more than about 75 people.
The fees came from a recommendation from the commissioners after they met in a workshop Oct. 9 to get a closer look at data from other cities with similar facilities, Moss said.
Among the comparable cities were Lampasas, Gatesville, Georgetown, San Saba, Brady, Fredericksburg, Kingsland, New Braunfels and Johnson City. The director specifically looked at daily rates and discovered a range from $125 to $332.50 with deposits from $100 to $1,000 with an average of $290.
“We found facilities comparable in size and usage,” Moss said. “What we’re recommending falls within the range of those facilities.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com