Council hears nonprofits’ objections to proposed special-event impact fee; final vote fails for lack of second

The Newport City Council moved an ordinance on special-event impact fees up the docket to hear testimony from local nonprofits, but councilors did not complete a final vote after a motion to approve the ordinance lacked a second and died.

Councilors said they moved the ordinance earlier in the meeting to accommodate members of the nonprofit community who came to speak. Several nonprofit representatives told the council the fee would substantially increase costs for small, volunteer-run events.

Deb Langel, who identified herself as representing Trinity Church, said her church runs a nonprofit pumpkin patch that “we've done it for 16 years.” She told the council last year’s changes already cost her organization about $2,250 and said, “$2,000 on any of our programs would be detrimental.”

Whitney Clark, director of development and communications for Newport Classical, said the organization’s fiscal year begins Sept. 1 and that existing budgets do not account for the proposed fee. “This would be an increase of about $4,000 just for the month of July,” Clark said, adding the cost would “directly and negatively impact our ability to continue providing the robust year‑round cultural programming the community has come to enjoy and rely upon for years.”

An official from the International Tennis Hall of Fame, who identified himself as the organization’s chief operating officer, told the council the Hall of Fame pays more than $350,000 in property taxes and described the fee as “short sighted” for large, longstanding event hosts.

Council discussion included procedural motions to bring the ordinance forward so members of the public could speak. A subsequent motion to approve the ordinance failed for lack of a second; no final passage or tabling vote on the ordinance was recorded in the transcript. The council therefore took no final action on the ordinance at this meeting.

Councilors also debated whether to treat different nonprofit event hosts as distinct categories when deciding fees for private cultural institutions versus small volunteer groups; some councilors urged clearer categorization in any future ordinance.

The transcript and staff materials presented the item as “ordinance number 14 concerning an impact fee,” but the published ordinance text and a detailed fee schedule were not included in the discussion excerpted in the meeting record reviewed by staff.

Councilors said the item will return for further consideration; if and when the council schedules a final vote, staff or proponents are expected to present ordinance language and fee tables for council review.

Votes at this meeting relevant to the item: a motion to move the ordinance early on the agenda passed; a separate motion to approve the ordinance failed for lack of a second and therefore received no recorded yes/no tally.