Mabton mayor and council weigh renting city property as roof damage forces safety review

The Mabton mayor opened discussion on a draft facility-use policy for the city-owned property at 406 Washington Street and asked the council to consider whether to rent the building or lease it to outside groups.

Staff reported an alternative venue, the Masonic Temple, can accommodate '211 people, max occupancy just on the top level and then an additional 49 on the bottom,' but charges about $1,000 for weekday rentals. Council members emphasized safety limits for the lower floor, noting the downstairs has only one exit and that rentals must enforce posted capacity limits. One council member said that responsibility would fall to the customer who signs the rental agreement and that signage has been placed to notify renters of limits.

Several members raised visible water damage and missing shingles on the city-owned building's roof. As one speaker put it, repairs should come sooner to avoid further interior damage: repairing the roof now would 'save the floors.' Council members suggested obtaining bids for reroofing and recommended pausing rental activity until the building meets code and the roof is fixed. The council agreed to return to the item in a future session for further decisions and potential lease terms.

The discussion included practical rental details offered by staff: a $500 deposit plus $500 usage fee was cited for a comparable venue; the council compared that to a church group renting the city property for $900 and discussed which costs (water, utilities, insurance) would be the renter's responsibility. No formal motion to approve new rental rates or to resume rentals was recorded at this meeting.