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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/15/1992, 2 - LIBRARY COMMUNITY ROOM FEES lllll^I�IIIIIIIIIII�III II MEETING DATE: lu ►����� city of san ,AIS OBIspo gr./5. 9/ COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT' ITEM NUMBER FROM: Ken Hampian, Assistant City Administrative Officer __,,,,fi�rr Prepared By: Dave Smith Building Maintenance Supervisor and Deb Hosslio Administrative Analyst SUBJECT: Library Community Room Fees CAO RECOMMENDATION: Adopt a resolution establishing fees for using the Community Room and Conference Room located in the City-County Library. DISCUSSION: Background and As part of our agreement with the County for the long term use of the City-County Library, the City is responsible for managing the Community Room and Conference Room located on the ground floor of the facility. Since the opening of the Library, the City has allowed the public to reserve the rooms on a first come, first serve basis free of charge (using a reservation system administered by the Public Works Department). The rooms are currently made available to the public from 8:00 am to 9:30 pm during the week and 9:00 am to 9:30 pm on weekends (except for City holidays). As expected, the rooms are used extensively by the community (there are no comparable facilities offered free of charge). Over the course of 1991-92 alone, the City reserved the rooms approximately 575 times for a variety of activities ranging from club meetings to theatrical productions. In fact, the rooms have become so popular with the community that the City can rarely reserve them for our own use. This popularity, while welcomed, has reached a point to where the actual costs to reasonably manage the rooms far exceeds the original "self service" concept. As initially conceived, maintenance staff stationed at City Hall were to merely be responsible for opening and closing the rooms for users (thereby only modestly impacting maintenance workload). In actuality, however, maintenance staff responsibilities have become very significant. They are responsible for making sure that the rooms are properly set up, the appropriate equipment is available for the user, City ordinances are observed (e.g., fire code),the rooms are adequately cleaned at the conclusion of their use, as well as a long list of other unanticipated user needs. In addition, the City's practice of allowing the public to reserve the rooms on the weekends has become quite costly as the City must pay overtime to the maintenance staff (no maintenance staff work regular hours on weekends). Managing the reservation system for the rooms is also very labor intensive. The secretarial pool in Public Works devotes approximately 30 hours per week to answering questions from the public about the rooms and processing reservation applications. Staff has determined that the City expended over $42,000 in personnel costs alone to support the Community Room and Conference Room operation in 1991-92. `,iil i!II �!' iilllll city Of SM .ss OBISPO Ze COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Offering the facilities free of charge has also created a problem that staff did not anticipate. Private sector operators of comparable rental facilities often feel that the City is unfairly competing with them. This has become somewhat controversial as the City makes the rooms available to all members of the community and does not distinguish between non-profit and for-profit users. Therefore, the rooms are used regularly for private sector profit making activities at no cost (e.g., attorneys using the rooms for seminars to generate more clients, etc.). Proposed Fee Schedule i Given the cost of managing the rooms, our concerns over competing with the private sector, and City's current financial problems, it no longer seems prudent to make the rooms available to the community free of charge. As such, staff is proposing that the City institute the following fee schedule for the use of the Community Room and Conference Room (the City and County would continue to be exempt from the fees): i Standard Non-Profit Rate Agency Rate Community Room ■ All Day. (over 6 hrs) $200 $100 ■ Half Day (6 hrs or less) $100 $ 50 Conference Room ! ■ All Day (over 6 hrs) $ 50 $ 25 ■ Half Day (6 hrs or less) $ 25 $ 15 i I In order to develop the fee schedule, staff first contacted eleven private and public rental facilities throughout the City to determine current market rates (See Attachment 2 for, survey results). It should be noted that not all facilities contacted represented exact I comparisons, however, they served to assist in developing benchmarks for fees. This information was then compared against what it costs to manage the rooms and the City's fee recovery policy (which recommends high levels of cost recovery for services that compete with private sector operations) to determine the recommended fee schedule. i In recognition of the burden the fees may impose on non-profit groups, staff recommends that the City structure the fees so that non-profit groups (defined as any organization with federal non profit status - 501 C3) pay approximately 50% of the standard rate established for all other users as shown above. Staff felt that it was appropriate to offer lower fees to non-profit groups given the public service nature of their activities. i z-z � [Jill Il. III '�1IIIIII - li;;;�, uiiii city of san ' is oBispo Oman COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Staff also recommends that implementation of the proposed fee schedule be deferred until November 15, 1992 (two months after Council adoption) to help insure a smooth transition. CONCURRENCES: I A letter was sent to all regular users of the rooms advising them of the proposed fee schedule as well as the date the Council would hold a public hearing to discuss them. As of report completion, staff had only received two inquiries on the proposed fees (with no objections). FISCAL IMPACT: Staff has conservatively estimated that the proposed fees will generate approximately $26,000 annually. This assumes that the rooms will be rented in some combination that generates$500 per week. All revenues generated from room rental will be credited to the General Fund and used to contribute toward maintaining services to the entire community which are being severely challenged as a result of the current fiscal environment. In this regard, as Council is well aware, the City has already cut numerous capital projects, frozen positions and eliminated others, and directed departments to develop further cost reduction options as we move into the next Financial Plan period. While the revenue derived from these fees will obviously not appreciably address these larger j financial issues, it is important to take even small steps as we transition into an era where it is no longer possible to use general community resources to provide free services to fairly specific user groups. ALTERNATIVES: I Develop a fee schedule that offers the rooms to non-profit groups at 25% of the rate established for all other users (as compared to 50% as recommended by staff) Given the large number of non-profit groups that use the Community Room and Conference Room and the public service nature of their activities, the Council may want to consider providing non-profit groups with a greater"price break" by setting fees at 25% of the standard rate recommended for all other users (as an example, non-profit groups could rent the community room for a full day for $50 as opposed to $100 recommended i by staff). While there are merits to this approach (e.g., reducing the burden on many already "over- extended" organizations), staff recommends against it. It is staff's opinion that the recommended fees are reasonable and fair - the non-profit groups are provided a quality facility at a rate well below market value and the City recoups a much lower portion of the costs expended for managing the rooms. �lillu'i iil� ►c�lull IIity o f San S OBISPO li ��Illl► � - COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Continue the practice of providing the rooms free of charge to all users The Council could opt to continue its current practice of providing the rooms free of charge to all users. Given the City's adopted user fee cost recovery policy, the costs to manage the rooms, our concern over competing with the private sector, and the City's current financial position, however, it is not recommended that this alternative be pursued. ATTACHMENTS: Resolution j Survey of Room Rental Facilities I I I I ► i i I I:library2 I RESOLUTION NO. (1992 SERIES) A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ESTABLISHING FEES FOR USING THE COMMUNITY ROOM AND CONFERENCE ROOM AT THE CITY-COUNTY LIBRARY WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City of San Luis Obispo to recoup the costs associated with allowing the public to use the Community Room and Conference Room at the City-County Library; and WHEREAS, the City of San Luis Obispo has completed a comprehensive analysis to determine the costs associated with operating the Community Room and Conference Room; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo that the following fees be instituted for using the Community Room and Conference Room at the City-County Library commencing on November 15, 1992: Standard Non-Profit Rate Agency Rate Community Room ■ All Day (over 6 hrs) $200 $100 ■ Half Day (6 hrs or less) $100 $ 50 Conference Room ■ All Day (over 6 hrs) $ 50 $ 25 ■ Half Day (6 hrs or less) $ 25 $ 15 1) The City and County of San Luis Obispo are exempt from these fees 2) To qualify for non-profit status an agency must possess 501C3 tax exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service Page 2 Resolution No. (1992 Series) Upon motion of seconded by and on the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: the resolution was adopted this day of 1992. Mayor Ron Dunin ATTEST: Pam Voges, City. Clerk APPROVED: City AcIfninistrative Officer City Attorney i:library2 Attachment "2" CONFERENCE ROOM RENTAL RATES Facili 150 40 15-25 Monday Club M-Thurs $200 (add $50/kitchen) $150/half day rental 543-2636/Beth F & Sat $350 (add $50/kitchen) less than 100 people $275/$180 on Sundays Security deposit equal to base rental ($200 minimum) Veteran's Hall (500) (175)* (75)* 549-5219/Denise $130 $50 $50 No food/beverage in this room * Kitchen located in basement additional $25 fee Reservation fee $25 non-refundable Security deposit required $50 Embassy Suites $400 $150 $150 549-0800/Tami Catering done in-house/if catered meal provided then rental rate is waived/no kitchen facilities available to renters Security deposit not required Sands $155 $85 $50 544-0500/Vicki No kitchen facilities Security deposit not required Royal Oak $225 $150 $150 544-4410/Diane Restaurant/catering in-house or outside Must secure reservation with credit card or prepayment in advance Security deposit not required Margie's Diner ----- $50 $50 541-2940/Margie Restaurant/no kitchen facilities Security deposit not required La Questa Inn --- ----- $55 543-2777/Cindy No kitchen facilities Security deposit not required Apple Farm ---- ----- $75 544-2040/Kim Rental fee must be paid in advance Security deposit not required z-� Conference Room Rates Page 2 Facilijy 150 40 15-25 Madonna Inn (250) (175) (60) 543-300/Edna $300 $225 $150 Restaurant/no kitchen facilities Security deposit not required Odd Fellows Hall $100/M-F daytime/no food $50-75 $50 543-8302/Les $200 on Saturdays Fees are approximate and dependent upon many variables (if food is served or if evening hours required rates could be higher) Kitchen facilities available only if dining room is used (rental rate to be determined). Security deposit equal to base rental rate Grange Hall (343) (257)* dining room ----- 543-3279/Duane $150 $150 Smaller groups can use portions of the building, but they are usually on-going groups and are given special rates (to be determined) Groups of non-profit status pay half of the rental rate * Dining room is the only group that has access to the kitchen and the rental rate of $150 includes its use Security deposit not required Elks Lodge $250 $75 $75 543-0322/Bill Restaurant must provide food/food cannot be catered by outside Security deposit not required NOTE: Above rental rates are based upon all day reservation of facility and theatre style set-up.. a\conffees DATE'N AGENDA / z ITEM 0o? Eva J. Vigil 1890 Castillo Court San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 YI p A (804) 541-8126 L ctkm ❑ DI 1?'CAO El FiN.Dix ❑ CDDDIR ❑ FIRE CHIEF [ 'FWDIR ORIC. ❑ POLICE CH ❑ MGMT.IFAM ❑3REC�DTR ?r T CREAD E -FL� T, Mayor Ron Dunin 990 Palm St. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Re: Fee for the use of the library community rooms Dear Mayor Dunin: I urge you to continue to make the community rooms at the library available to non-profit groups free of charge. Non-profit organizations in San Luis Obispo provide numerous beneficial services to this community, which our local government would not provide otherwise. To saddle these organization with yet another cost directly limits that organization's ability to provide its services. Providing these meeting rooms free of charge to these groups is a small price to pay for the contributions the City receives in return. I, for one, am happy to pay taxes to support these efforts. Thank you for your consideration. v ' Eva J. U it Copies to: Penny Rappa Bill Roalman Peg Pinard Jerry Reiss R E G F a V F SEP 1 S 1992 CITY CLERK SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA 09/15/92 15:58 8055499627 AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION SA PAGE 02 San Luis Obispo Dtvlsion-_o.Box 1071 •San Luis Obispo.CA 93405 1371 Pacific Straet•San Luis Obispo.CA 93401 -805/54-1505 *AsAsociation merican Heart Oedicared to the reduction of d'satiury and death hom cardiovascular diseases and smAe. California Affiliate MEETING AGENDA DATE NREM#�cta September 15, 1992 Mr. John Dunn City Administrative Officer VO 10ds180 s1m1 rtes City of San Luis Obispo '113Nnoo Alto 990 Palm Street Z661 S I d3S P.O. Box 8100 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 a3AI7303�-] Dear Mr. Dunn, We have recently been notified that there will be a public hearing tonight during the City Council meeting concerning the establishment of fees for the use of the City-County Library Community Room and Conference Room. As the new Executive Director of the American Heart Association, I am currently making plans to establish a Speakers Bureau for San Luis Obispo County. The speakers would convey information on health, nutrition, and exercise to the general community. The Community Room at the library would be an ideal place to hold these informational presentations. As a non-profit organization, our limited budget makes it impossible to rationalize paying a fee for a room. We would be forced to look for a facility that would donate a room for this educational purpose. While charging "for-profit" businesses may be unavoidable due to budget constraints, I hope that charging non-profit organizations for the use of the rooms will be re-considered. ASincerely, r COPIBTO: ❑ Dmafes-don ❑ FYI Melissa Morrison �COmW CDDDOL GO ❑ FEN.DIR. Executive Director ACAO ❑ FIRE CHIU aTTORN Y FW DIE. i'atxx/ORIC. ❑ PoUa C►t MCMT.TE4M ❑ REC.DUL cc San Luis Obispo City Council ❑ RE4DFME ❑ LMLDUL WERE Fr=FHTIW7 FOR iyI��,� • o-tm� AGENDA Z. con 1110 Califomia Blvd. • San Luis Obispo Califomia 93401 • 805 ATO: LJ•De�ohes Action ❑ FYI dCounca ❑ CDDD11L September 14, 1992 r' A� , HN.DIR.O ❑ FIRECHIEF � fURNEY CSI FW DER. C7 CLFRK/ORIG. ❑ POLJa Qt ❑ MCMT.TEAM ❑ REC DIR San Luis Obispo City Council �Cl2FADFILE ❑�UEIE Qt P.O. Box 8100 �I San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 Re: Proposed fees for the use of library conference facilities Dear Council Members: I certainly understand the dilemma cities are faced with in generating revenue to support services, however, there are many organizations providing services at no charge to the community who have been able to take advantage of the wonderful facilities at the library. For example, several people (myself included) formed an educational group called Widowed Persons' Outreach several years go. We provide a five-hour seminar (including lunch) for widowed people to educate them financially and emotionally. We charge $6 per person which in no way nearly covers the expenses incurred to provide this service to the city and county of San Luis Obispo. The new fees you propose to charge for use of the library facilities (since we are not technically a 501 C3 group) would nearly double our out-of-pocket expenses, making these seminars very expensive to provide as a service to the community. I am sure there are many other groups who may find your increased fees putting them in the same dilemma. Since the nature of the meetings being held in these rooms is to be "in the community's interest", perhaps your fees will become self-defeating whereby the community will have fewer programs in which to participate. I urge you to strongly consider the status quo for the benefit of the community or reducing your proposed fee schedule so that you are more than competitive with other outfits in the community who offer additional services such as food catering, etc. After all, you really don't offer the same services as commercial organizations. Your consideration is appreciated. Please let me know if you have questions or would like additional comments. Sincer , David W. Cry en CFP SEP 1 c 1992 Vice President CITY CLERK DWC:lkb SAN LUIS OBISPO.CA cc: John Dunn, City Administrative Officer \1, K,NASD PASO ROBLES SAN LUIS OBISPO SANTA MARIA nt„a•,,xir prETING AGENDA E_ rUI RECac San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce 9 1092 1039 Chorro Street • San Luis Obispo, California 93401-3278 (805) 781-2777 • FAX (805) 543-1255 David E. Garth, Executive Director SAN LUlS ogi_oD OA September 9. 1992 Mr. John Dunn City Administrative Officer City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street P.O. Box 8100 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 Dear John: This is in response to the recent notification of proposed charges for use of the City-County Library Community Room and Conference Room. Allow me to express my extreme dismay at the prospect of charging San Luis Obispo's non-profit agencies for use of this facility. A "Community" Room should exist to serve the interests of the local community -- something these agencies do day after day. Placing a fee on use of the room will likely cause some of the non-profit agencies to reduce, or cease, their use of the room, with the community losing in the end. Charges for "all other users" would seem to make more sense, as a great many of these entities are in the for-profit business. While I recognize the budget constraints facing the City at this time are great, I believe a fee schedule of this magnitude, as it pertains to non-profit agencies, is unwarranted. Sincerely, �.iPIESTO: ❑-iTa t Action ❑ FYI . hG Cmmal ❑ CDDDBL LKCAO ❑ FIN.DIX Aancei Evans E®d ACRO ❑ FIREQ-I117 Director, Governmental Affairs dAT>� ❑❑ FwDUL FOLXEGL ❑ MC MT.TFAM ❑ RM Due. ❑ READFU ❑ UHLDIR. . cc San Luis Obispo City Council �TT. FiC6 ACCREDITED CMAMoce OF COMMERCE C+AMBER OF COMMERCE Of 7"E UNITID STAIES MEETAGENDA DCISC DTE ' ITEM I_jegt. DIABLO CANYON INDEPENDENT SAFETY COMMITTEE September 4, 1992 857 Cass Street Suite D Monterey.CA 93940 800/439-4688 408/647-1044 City Council Members COMMITTEE City of San Luis Obispo C. MEMBERS -990- Palm -street William E. Kastenberg Post Office BOX 8100 SAN LUIS 031E.?O,CA Warren H. Owen San Luis Obispo, California 93403-8100 Herbert H.Woodson Attention: John Dunn, City COUNSEL Administrative Officer Robert R. Wellington Re: Establishing Fee Schedule for Rooms at City-County Library Dear Council Members: Mr. Dunn has recently sent to the Diablo Canyon Inde- pendent Safety Committee ("DCISC") , as occasional users over the last two years of the Community Room at the City-County Library, a memo relative to the proposed establishment of fees for use of the library facilities. With full awareness of the precarious financial situation that California cities find themselves in these days, with the great assistance of our legislators in Sacramento, the DCISC is of the opinion that the fee schedule proposed is appropri- ate, fair and long overdue. We have paid comparable or higher fees for the use of similar facilities at the Grange Hall in San Luis Obispu a!-id 'Che South Of6casL n24ivltdi Center iri Arroyo Grande. Best wishes on your deliberations and decision. Very truly yours, jVc n Roert R. Wellington CO TO; DCISC Legal Counsel ❑• .amFYI Action ❑ 91./camel ❑ CDD DUL RRW:pb �,_ C3FiN.Da cc: DCISC Members AC C1FMCHIEF la' TMRNEY [_J FIN DIR. Q1ERK/0RIG. ❑ POLICECH. ❑ MGMT.TEAM ❑ REC DIX ❑ C READ FILE ❑ UIIL DIR. MEETING AGENDA ITE 9119-9Z ITEM #Z SAN LUIS OBISPO MOZART FESTIVAL t4 q� - MA CUF70N SWXNSon �1�'� 2 U ',o92 August 27, 1992 SA.V cylvL .ki CA Mr. John Dunn City Administrative Officer City of San Luis Obispo 990 Palm Street P.O. Box 8100 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8100 Dear John, I received your recent memorandum regarding fees for the City-County Library Community Room and Conference Room. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend this meeting, but I want to express my thoughts regarding this matter. Though I know it is painful to face the need to access such a fee, I do believe, because of the financial situation our City is facing, it has become necessary to establish such a fee. The fee structure seems equitable, therefore, I support the proposal . I appreciated your.brief update on the City'sfinancial picture at the SLO Chamber of Commerce Breakfast. Though this is a difficult time for all of us, I am convinced through good management we will make it through this difficult period. Thank you for the role you are playing in helping us face these hard times. Sincerely, <artin Executive Director oDe oc;rt::i" ❑ Fn +wr it ❑ mDDM--- �L�ff CA ; ❑ FW.D R. LO—C 7 ❑ FIRE C HU LT ATP0�vSY ❑ FW DDR 9rCLEIWOPIC. ❑ POLiaca ❑ N.C,l, 1PAm C1 REC.DIR 4 -. POST OFFICE BOX 311 SAN' LMS OBISPO CALIFORNIA 93406 805.543.4580