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City clarifies parade permit fee in response to homecoming story

Marble Falls City Hall

The cost of closing a street for a parade is not $2,000 and permits for events are only $35 for nonprofits such as a school district, said the city of Marble Falls in a comment on DailyTrib.com’s Facebook page Tuesday, Sept. 13. The comment was in response to a story published Monday about why the school district did not have a homecoming parade the past two years.

Marble Falls High School’s athletic booster club held a tailgate party and stationary parade on Sept. 7 instead of its traditional homecoming parade because of the reported high fees. It was the second year for a stationary parade. A link to the story was posted on Facebook and caused a backlash from some residents who were upset the city did not cut the school a deal.

“Much information in this post is not accurate,” reads the city’s comment on Facebook. “An event such as the Homecoming Parade which requires the closing of a street requires a special event permit from the City. The application fee is $35 for a non-profit and $50 for a for-profit organization. There is NOT a fee to close the street.” 

A followup story was written when Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Chris Allen stepped in and said he was negotiating with the city to make sure a parade happened next year. He said the parade committee was unaware of changes the city had made to its permit policy, adding that parades must apply six months in advance. 

“You have to have these requests in on certain timelines,” Allen said. “We got behind on that.”

The city said that is not true.

“The permit application should be submitted 90 days prior to the event, NOT 6 months,” the city wrote in its Facebook comment. 

Multiple officials, including City Manager Mike Hodge, Mayor Richard Westerman, and City Councilor Reed Norman, were called for comments on the original story. None had responded by deadline. 

DailyTrib.com reached out again to city officials for comment on this story as well. They did not respond by the time of publication.

The city’s Facebook comment assured potential permit seekers that the city will work with them to help make their events happen.

“The City of Marble Falls is always willing to work with an applicant in order to assure a successful event,” the comment reads. “For more information visit www.marblefallstx.gov/special event or contact the City Secretary’s Office at 830-693-3615.”

nathan@thepicayune.com

1 thought on “City clarifies parade permit fee in response to homecoming story

  1. I am grateful for the clarification and hope that we can make the Homecoming Parade happen in 2023 and every year thereafter. And a big Thank You to our City Council for their support! Go Mustangs!

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