Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Center Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Isanti committee weighs higher rental rates, booking blocks and internet bids for community center
Summary
At a Committee of the Whole meeting, members and city staff discussed raising rental rates at the Isanti Community Center, implementing time-block bookings to increase daily utilization, and soliciting internet service bids. Staff was directed to gather comparable venue rates, compile last year—s rental data and return with a plan.
The Isanti City Committee of the Whole continued its meeting from recess to take up E3, a discussion about rental rates and internet service for the Isanti Community Center.
City staff presented several options to adjust rental pricing and scheduling to better reflect operating costs and to increase the number of bookings per day. Staff said the current fee structure includes a $25 four-hour rate and a larger-event rate currently priced at $275. Staff recommended using time-blocks so the center could be rented in multiple four-hour segments in a single day instead of allowing a single booking to block an entire day.
Why it matters: Council members and staff said the center is an amenity for residents but should at least cover operating costs. One council member said the target should be to approach an average of about $171 in operating revenue per rental. Staff and council members discussed changes intended to keep nonprofits able to use the space while shifting larger-event pricing toward market comparables.
Discussion details
- Time-blocking: City staff said the new reservation software can create discrete blocks (for example, 8 a.m.–12 p.m., 12–4 p.m., 4–8 p.m.) so the center can be booked multiple times in a single day. Staff noted the software can also apply geofencing to give residents a different rate than nonresidents.
- Nonprofit concessions: Staff estimated about two nonprofit bookings a month for the four-hour ($25) slot. Council members discussed limiting increases for nonprofits (one councillor suggested raising a nonprofit four-hour rate only modestly, to about $30), while increasing large-event fees more substantially.
- Large-event pricing: Staff and council members discussed raising the largest-event fee (currently $275) toward $400–$500 in phased steps; one councillor proposed $400 the first year and $500 the next. Council members asked staff to compile comparables from local venues before settling on final numbers.
- Financial targets and data: A council member asked staff to provide last year—s rental list and to calculate average revenue per rental; staff said the finance director could help compute an "average per rental" and that operating costs (about $171 per rental, as cited in the discussion) do not include capital expenses. Staff said the software is not currently set up to compute that metric automatically but that staff can provide the numbers.
- Internet service bids: Council members asked staff to solicit quotes from multiple providers (T-Mobile, Verizon, Midco, CenturyLink) to assess data capability and costs for the building.
Council directions and next steps
City staff were asked to: (1) begin implementing time-block booking using the new reservation software as soon as feasible or to pick a start date based on existing reservations, (2) collect venue comparables and prepare a proposed rate schedule, (3) compile last year—s rentals for review, (4) solicit internet service quotes from named providers, and (5) return with an administrative update at the next meeting.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to come out of recess: Mover: Councilman Holmgren; Second: Councilman Heaman; Outcome: passed (tally reported 3 yes, 0 no).
- Motion to adjourn committee: Mover: Council member Heaman; Second: Councilman Holmgren; Outcome: passed (tally reported 3 yes, 0 no).
Ending
Staff said it will bring a more detailed proposal and comparables to the next committee meeting and that the city can choose a start date for time-blocking based on how far out existing reservations extend.
