Council trims proposed banner fee to $25, approves advertising guidelines for city athletic fields

The Saint Peter City Council on April 27 reviewed policy guidelines to allow community associations to place advertising banners on chain-link fences at city athletic facilities, including Jefferson Park, Veterans Park and other recreation sites. Pete, presenting on behalf of parks staff, said the parks board vetted the policy and recommended the resolution (packet pages 19–20).

Council members pressed staff on which associations had been consulted, whether the school district’s use of the fields affects advertising, and how fees and installation responsibilities would be handled. Staff said associations would typically make and fund banners; the $100 fee proposed in the draft was intended to cover staff time to install and remove banners and to pay for administrative review of signage content. Staff also said signage content would require preapproval under existing rules for community-center and park signage.

After discussion about volunteer capacity, liability and consistency across facilities, a council member moved to amend the proposed fee to $25 per banner per season. The amendment carried by roll call. The council then approved the parks-board-recommended resolution as modified, replacing the $100 fee with $25 under the listed bullet point. Council members asked staff to monitor implementation during the first year and return with adjustments if needed.

Pete and staff noted the policy is intended to be applied uniformly across associations and locations; staff also suggested the council could consider differentiated rules later if the council preferred facility-specific approaches.