Fillmore council agrees to review event fees, volunteer rules after residents say costs block local festivals

Residents and event organizers told the Fillmore City Council on Jan. 14 that the city’s fee and staffing rules are pricing small volunteer-run events off public property, and the council agreed to add a public review of event fees to a future meeting.

During public comment, Sophia Alvarado, a long-time Fillmore resident, said a recent community event had to be held on private property because the organizers “could not afford to do it with our city on the city property.” She said the group’s work was entirely volunteer-based and that the fee schedule the city provided made use of parks and other public venues “untouchable for the average Joe.”

The exchange drew a second public comment from Jose Martinez, who said the Dia de los Muertos event he helped organize raised roughly $6,000 for a local nonprofit but faced the same barrier when he sought to stage other community…