Parks committee reviews 2025 events calendar; discusses deposits, nonprofit fees and open house for carriage house design

Warren County's Joint Parks Operations and Maintenance Committee on Jan. 24 reviewed a preliminary 2025 events calendar, discussed deposit and cancellation policies after several events were cancelled last year, and considered a request from the Lake George Land Conservancy to use park facilities under the county's nonprofit rate.

Parks staff described the provisional 2025 schedule and highlighted a planned "Jeep invasion" during Father's Day weekend. Staff said the Jeep event typically draws large crowds in other locations (a Wildwood, N.J., organizer cited an attendance figure of about 4,000 at a comparable show) and estimated that roughly 20–25% of participants would camp on site, with the remainder staying in hotels. Staff cautioned those figures were organizers' claims and not verified by county data.

Committee members discussed how weather and last year's cancellations affected revenue and scheduling. Staff said three weekends of events were canceled in 2024 because of weather and that occasional multi-weekend breaks can help turf recovery. The committee also discussed the county's deposit policy; staff said deposits are nonrefundable once submitted, and members debated the appropriate forfeiture timeline when events cancel close to their scheduled dates.

The Lake George Land Conservancy asked to use park facilities for a multi-day event. Parks staff said the county's facility rates list a $1,500-per-day charge for the facility but noted that recognized not-for-profit organizations typically pay a $500-per-day rate. Staff said the conservancy likely qualifies under the not-for-profit rate and that if so the item would not need committee approval; if it does not qualify, staff will bring the request to the committee next month for consideration.

Staff also announced an open house for a park-design project: an open house at 6 p.m. on Jan. 30 at the carriage house at Fort William Henry to present a design for a children—s forest feature. Andy Allison, the project's architect, will display designs and take public comment.

Procedural actions taken during the meeting included approval of the previous month's minutes by voice vote. The chair called for approval of the minutes and recorded three "aye" responses. A motion to adjourn was made toward the end of the meeting.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes (motion by Mr. Bruno; second by Seido) — Passed by voice vote (three ayes recorded). - Motion to adjourn (motion by Mr. Bruno; second by Seido) — Motion recorded; no roll-call vote recorded.

Next steps: staff will confirm whether Lake George Land Conservancy qualifies for the not-for-profit rate and will bring any request that requires committee approval to the next meeting. Staff will also provide the calendar and related materials earlier ahead of meetings when possible, per a committee request.