Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Events Pool topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council approves pool movie night with daytime cardboard boat races; bounce‑house use contingent on vendor insurance
Summary
The council approved a pool event featuring a daytime cardboard boat race, pool activities and a movie screening (Moana). Organizers proposed revenue sharing with the recreation program, entry fees for races, and a bouncy‑house vendor; the bounce‑house element was approved only if the vendor names the city as an additional insured on its policy.
Augusta City Council on June 16 approved a pool event request from the Augusta Recreation Committee and pool staff that will hold daytime activities culminating in a movie night showing Moana.
Clinton Warner (Augusta Recreation Committee) and Amanda Johnston (city pool) described plans for daytime programming including a cardboard boat competition (entries $15 pre‑registered, $20 day‑of), a possible bounce house, water volleyball and other activities. Johnston said organizers will provide oars for the cardboard boats, restrict construction materials to cardboard and duct tape, and award three prize categories ("Pride of the Fleet" for design/physics, "Speedboat" for fastest, and "Titanic" for the most dramatic sink).
Council discussed how fees would be handled. Johnston said the Recreation Committee and the city would split event registration revenue 50/50; pool admission fees would continue to go to the city. Staff warned that the city’s insurer, EMC, would not cover bounce houses directly, but the city’s public safety team previously arranged coverage for a vendor who named the city as additional insured for another event. The council discussed a potential cost to add the city to a vendor policy and asked staff to pursue the same approach.
Amanda Johnston identified the bounce‑house vendor as Big Bounce Party Supply and said the vendor quoted $230 for two units and had indicated the company is licensed and insured. Council approved the event by motion. Because the event date preceded the next council meeting, council then voted to approve the bounce‑house component contingent on the vendor adding the city as an additional insured or staff discretion to approve it within a reasonable cost cap.
Motions on the event and the conditional bounce‑house approval passed by voice vote.
What’s next: staff will finalize vendor insurance arrangements, collect registrations, split event revenues with the recreation program and proceed with event logistics as approved by council.
