Sedro-Woolley council debates community-center alcohol, rental and fee rules; ordinance revised for third reading

The Sedro-Woolley City Council on Tuesday debated revisions to the municipal code that would affect rentals at the community center and senior center, including whether events with alcohol should require city-assigned security, higher security deposits, and new insurance requirements. After more than an hour of debate and public comment the council instructed staff to revise the draft ordinance and scheduled a third reading.

At the second reading councilmembers and members of the public discussed four main topics: whether events that serve alcohol should require city-assigned security officers, whether the city should require higher security deposits for certain uses and for nonresidents, whether renters must carry event insurance, and what cut-off time should apply to events serving alcohol. Council members also raised exceptions for religious communion and for unopened bottles provided as raffle prizes.

City staff initially proposed that events serving alcohol require two security personnel assigned through the Sedro-Woolley Police Department, billed to the renter at $250 per hour per officer (minimum four hours). Public commenters and several council members worried that the proposal would be punitive for local resident groups and would limit routine uses, such as the Rotary's holiday dinner and small nonprofit fundraisers. After discussion the council removed the staff's proposed blanket requirement that two city officers be assigned for every alcohol event; councilmembers instead directed staff to require event liability insurance for all rentals and to reserve the ability to require security when staff or the chief identify a specific need.

On hours, council consensus moved toward a 10 p.m. end time for events that involve alcohol. For purely nonalcohol events (for example, many daytime rentals, arts and crafts, or senior activities) councilmembers said they did not want additional security or monitor fees to be imposed. The city attorney and staff will draft clearer language to exempt church communion and unopened alcohol provided as prizes from the alcohol-specific permit language.

Council spent substantial time discussing security deposits and nonresident charges. Members asked staff to produce a cleaner, simpler fee structure and to return a revised master-fee schedule with clear definitions of "nonresident" and the security-deposit amounts for differing event types. Council asked staff to add clear guidance on how violations of rental terms would be enforced, including withholding deposits and barring repeat rentals by groups that break rules.

Public comment included a Rotary representative who said a blanket security assignment and high fees would make community events more difficult to hold, and other speakers urged the council to balance safety with public access. Several councilmembers said they supported keeping the center broadly available to local residents but wanted measures that reduce the risk of violence or damage.

The council did not adopt the ordinance Tuesday. Instead it directed staff to prepare a revised ordinance that reflected the council's choices (insurance required for all rentals, a 10 p.m. cutoff for alcohol events, removal of the blanket two-officer requirement, clarified exemptions for church communion and unopened gifts) and to return the item for a third reading on Oct. 22 with a cleaned-up master-fee schedule.