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Mill Valley council approves joint-use agreement with school district for Friends Field
Summary
The council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a joint-use agreement with the Mill Valley School District that formalizes scheduling, maintenance and liability terms for Friends Field through Dec. 31, 2029, with two possible five-year extensions.
The Mill Valley City Council voted unanimously March 10 to authorize the city manager to execute a joint-use agreement with the Mill Valley School District for Friends Field, formalizing long-standing arrangements on scheduling, maintenance and liability.
City staff described the agreement as an effort to "memorialize how we operate and to give us our rules and conditions so we can execute it," saying the term runs through Dec. 31, 2029, with two optional five-year extensions. The agreement lists events the city may continue to host and reserves school-day priority and certain special-event controls to the district.
School-district representatives and city staff told the council that some large events, including the Mill Valley Music Festival, are not on the city's permitted-events list and therefore would require a direct contract with the district. The city's presentation said the district would receive permit fees for events the district contracts directly, while the city would continue to maintain the fields under the agreement.
City Manager Cusimano said the document "is not the perfect agreement for either side, but this is how we've operated over the past decade," and described the deal as a compromise that clarifies priorities and operations. A school-side representative said an annual scheduling meeting will be held to avoid conflicts and to coordinate maintenance and events.
Council members asked how the agreement would treat special events, who would control event conditions, and how preemption would work in emergencies. Staff responded that the contract includes an exhibit listing city-permitted events and that preemption of city uses by the district would be limited to emergencies or unexpected circumstances; otherwise the parties will follow an agreed priority schedule that gives the school first priority during school hours, followed by city maintenance, then city recreational activities.
The council approved the resolution by voice vote; the record shows unanimous approval. The city plans to use the Friends Field agreement as a template for similar agreements on other fields, with specific exhibits tailored to each site.
