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Women’s Club urges council to pause facility fees; youth advocates press for tobacco‑free lakefront ordinance
Summary
During public comment the Saint Cloud Woman’s Club urged council to withdraw proposed fee changes that could charge nonprofits for additional facility use; SWAT youth groups urged the council to expand the city’s tobacco‑free parks ordinance to include the Lakefront Park. Staff said contract renegotiations and a code change for the lakefront are possible and that staff will draft language if council directs.
Two distinct public comment threads drew council attention to parks policy and fee schedules.
Representatives of the Saint Cloud Woman’s Club—Charmaine Boust and Sharon Bliss—said proposed updates to Parks & Recreation rental fees would impose a hardship on their long‑running nonprofit, which relies on fundraising and volunteer labor to preserve local history and support community programs. Boust and Bliss said the women’s club has supported Veterans Park and local libraries for decades and asked the council to withdraw consideration of fees they said would apply to nonprofit meeting use outside longstanding agreements. City staff said they are renegotiating agreements and that recent activity outside existing contract terms led to charges when facilities were used outside agreed terms; staff clarified the specific hometown‑heroes language is not part of tonight’s agenda item.
Separate public commenters from SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) including Milan Robinson, Desiree Austin and Corbin Sofia Jones asked council to strengthen the city’s tobacco‑free parks policy by explicitly including Saint Cloud Lakefront Park after youth cleanups collected “hundreds” of cigarette butts and vaping litter. City Attorney advised council that the existing 2004 ordinance included an exception for the lakefront and that staff could prepare language to remove that exception if the council directs; council members indicated support for staff to draft an ordinance.
Mayor Robertson and council members thanked speakers and asked staff to bring back clearer contract information for nonprofits and to draft code language for the lakefront so council can consider it at a future meeting.
