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Council approves park‑fee waiver for inclusive cycling day after debate over costs and precedent
Summary
City Council authorized a third‑party sponsorship agreement with Sequoia Therapeutic Recreation to waive park permit fees for a free all‑abilities cycling and play day, while several members pressed staff for clearer accounting of waived fees and related staff costs (staff estimated roughly $5,300). The vote passed amid calls for a policy to manage future requests.
The University Place City Council authorized the city manager to execute a third‑party sponsorship agreement with Sequoia Therapeutic Recreation (STR) to support an all‑abilities cycling and play day at CIR Park on Sunday, June 7, pending any manager‑authorized adjustments.
Council member Figureroa raised procedural concerns, saying she did not recall council giving direction to advance the proposal to the consent agenda and warned that routinely waiving fees sets a precedent: “I have a strong issue that unless somebody can prove me wrong there was no direction from this council as a whole to provide uh to come back as a council action,” she said, adding that a one‑off approach risks unfairness and urged a more systematic budget or RFP process.
Council member Gasi and others described the event as a free family‑friendly, inclusive recreation day — not a paid program — and said STR asked only that the city waive park permit fees so the event could be free to attendees. “They're asking us to wave our park permit fees for the day,” Council member Gasi said.
City staff and the city attorney explained the financial picture: park fee waivers themselves are small (staff listed roughly $364 of waived permit fees in the draft worksheet), but event partnerships typically require communication, public‑works staffing and other administrative support. Staff provided a conservative estimate in the packet that totaled about $5,300 in staff time and communications costs for an event of this scope. Council member Wood pressed staff to reconcile language in the packet that described the request as “minimal to no direct financial impact” with the higher staff‑cost estimate.
After extended discussion about fairness, budget impacts and the need for a long‑term approach to managing third‑party sponsorships, Council member Wood moved to authorize the city manager to execute the agreement; the motion passed on a voice vote.
Council members asked staff to bring the topic back to a study session for a programmatic review of how the city will evaluate and budget future third‑party sponsorship requests, including whether to cap annual waivers or adopt an RFP for event partnerships.
The action allows STR to proceed with the event and waives the listed park permit fees; staff will coordinate remaining logistics and report estimates of final staff costs.
