Commission approves fee waivers for PlayMarin and Fall Arts Festival

The Parks & Recreation Commission approved staff recommendations to grant event fee waivers for two community events after brief staff presentations and comments from festival producers.

Deputy Director Jay Ingram recommended a 50% fee waiver for PlayMarin, consistent with a prior approval in October 2024. Staff told the commission that the waiver would leave PlayMarin with an estimated final payment of roughly $2,503.50 including a refundable deposit; the transcript’s numeric transcription was inconsistent, and staff has been asked to confirm the exact final amounts in writing.

On the Fall Arts Festival, staff reported an initial commercial estimate near $16,000 based on multi‑day and commercial assumptions. After discussions with the festival’s executive director and production team, staff applied a nonprofit attendance assumption that reduced the estimated charge to about $7,000 and recommended a 40% fee waiver to approximate the festival’s historical expense. Staff estimated the final fee after the 40% waiver at about $3,888 plus the refundable deposit; staff noted a $900 deposit figure that includes a $100 carryover from the prior year.

Festival producer Steven Receiva thanked staff and said the production team is working to shorten set‑up days to reduce community impact. Deputy Director Ingram said the department will review fee‑schedule wording (specifically the table at staff report page 3, line 77) to ensure charges intended for higher‑impact, commercial events are clearly distinguished from nonprofit rates.

The commission approved both waivers by voice votes and directed staff to finalize permit conditions, deposit amounts and written confirmation of the fee calculations.

Next steps: staff will confirm final fee and deposit amounts in writing to event organizers and will prepare revised fee‑schedule language for future consideration.