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Council delays fee schedule for East Smithfield Neighborhood Center to gather cost data
Summary
Smithfield’s council on March 17 continued discussion of a proposed fee schedule for the new East Smithfield Neighborhood Center, asking staff to calculate operating costs and return with a draft ordinance or consistent policy; the council agreed to protect town priority for municipal events.
The Town Council on March 17 reviewed a proposed fee schedule for the East Smithfield Neighborhood Center and voted to continue the item to the next meeting so staff can provide cost estimates and draft a uniform policy.
Town staff presented a draft schedule that categorized users as civic events (free), nonprofit/community groups (reduced fee) and non-civic/profit groups (higher fee), and proposed a $100 evening rental example in the interim. Council members raised concerns about exempting condominium associations and political groups, the staffing and custodial costs for evening events, and whether an ordinance should ultimately set fees for municipal buildings. Members asked staff to prepare a spreadsheet comparing estimated operating costs with proposed charges and to prepare an ordinance or formal fee schedule for council consideration at the next meeting.
Council members emphasized that town events should retain scheduling priority and that any political-group exceptions be handled carefully to avoid legal or policy problems. For the time being the council authorized staff to finalize estimates and return with recommended language.
