Nonprofit seeks monthly 'Grady County International Fair'; council amends park policy to allow nonprofit vendor fees

Sylvia Salgado presented a proposal from Mission Vision Foundation to hold a monthly Grady County International Fair at Davis Park on the third Saturday of the month, May through October, with event hours the organization later clarified as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and one hour of breakdown time.

Salgado described the event as a combination job fair, health fair, resource fair and open-air market to "connect residents to opportunity, promote entrepreneurship, strengthen families, and foster a healthier, thriving community." She said vendor fees would support the nonprofit's scholarships, after-school programs and emergency relief efforts. Salgado proposed a $50 vendor fee for most vendors and $75 for food trucks.

Council members raised several concerns during the discussion: limiting the number of vendors so the park is not overcrowded; preserving public access to playgrounds and other park areas; liability for food vendors; and fairness if the city did not receive a rental fee while a nonprofit collected vendor fees. Salgado said events would be limited to approximately 20'30 vendors and that the nonprofit would carry insurance and assume liability for vendors.

Separately, the council considered a proposed change to the city's park policy to allow 501(c)(3) nonprofits to charge vendor fees at free, approved public events in city parks. The amendment would also allow vendors to sell food and merchandise during such events if the sale is authorized in the application and the event is open to the public. Supporters said the change would enable nonprofits to offset event costs for insurance, setup and promotion; opponents warned of frequent fundraising events taking park space away from the public.

After discussion, councilmembers approved the park-policy amendment with conditions that events still must be permitted and scheduled so multiple organizations have fair access. The motion passed 4-0-1.

The record shows Mission Vision presented its plan and discussed vendor numbers and fees; the council debated the operational details and the policy change but did not record a separate final vote on the Mission Vision event itself in the transcript. Council members emphasized that nonprofit events must apply through the normal permit process and that a master calendar or permit system would help avoid conflicts.

Ending: Staff will process nonprofit event applications under the amended park policy; council asked staff to ensure insurance, vendor counts and scheduling details are part of future event permits.