CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Consider the staff recommendation allowing outside meeting room rentals on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, during business hours Monday through Friday, increasing the meeting room rental fees, and providing increased security
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DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Marcie Schatz, Assistant to the City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
At the December 16, 2025, City Council meeting, staff recommended to discontinue meeting room rentals at the Municipal Center to all outside non-governmental groups effective July 1, 2026. The recommendation was based on concerns about safety and security, declining usage, efficient use of City resources, other meeting room rental options in the community, and complexity in meeting room policies.
The City Council discussed concerns with the current reservation system, the potential need to increase fees and the value to the community of hosting outside meetings at the Municipal Center. The City Council directed staff to bring back a report including the option to schedule outside meetings in the evenings when the City already has events scheduled, allowing outside meetings during normal business hours, and charging the appropriate market-based room rental fees if necessary.
DISCUSSION:
Staff evaluated meeting room options using data over the past months. The review incorporated accommodating current meeting room usage, safety and security, potential reservation and billing process improvements, and policy updates.
The analysis of allowing rentals on evenings when City meetings are scheduled included nights when City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, and the Transportation Advisory Board meet. While this option worked for some months and staff is in the building, it is a challenging schedule for the public to understand, and projected capacity issues will not accommodate meetings during certain months.
While continuing to address days, hours, and security needs, staff proposes expanding this option to allow rentals on all Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. This option provides a consistent, easily understood schedule and accommodates current meeting room usage requests.
Currently, only two board/commission meetings are held on Monday evenings. The Financial Advisory Board meets quarterly, and the Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission meets every other month and is canceled approximately one-third of the time due to a lack of filed complaints.
For this reason, staff is not recommending having rentals available on Monday evenings, will be requesting that these groups reschedule meetings to Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and closing the building on Monday as well as Friday evenings.
There is an increased cost of providing security (discussed below) on meeting nights and staff continues to balance room availability and increased costs.
Security
To address safety and security concerns, staff recommends having an off-duty police officer in the building for security on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. This recommendation will benefit outside meeting rentals as well as the City board and commission meetings scheduled for those evenings.
Increased security addresses concerns related to oversight, building operations, and emergency response and limits risks associated with property damage and personal injury. The officer will be provided through the existing security contract rate of $65 per hour with an estimated annual cost of $42,000. A Change Order to the contract will be required to fund these services. Staff anticipates some of this increase to be offset by reducing the hours of the current building attendant on Mondays and Fridays.
Meeting Room Policies and Procedures
Staff will be consistently enforcing the meeting policies moving forward, including the requirements to make reservations 14 days in advance and payment within 7 days of invoice. Staff will also continue to review reservation and billing processes and seek efficiencies as needed. This includes any opportunities for reservation and payment systems offered through the new City website vendor (currently in the procurement process).
Rental Fees
Meeting room rental fees have not been modified since 2015 and staff will be updating the fees to reflect current costs and including the staff resources for managing and billing the room rentals. As such, reserving both meeting rooms A and B will be $150 and $90 for reserving meeting rooms A, B, and the lunchroom separately. The recommended fees reflect the cost of setup, takedown, cleaning, and administrative costs of managing meeting room reservations and billing. Because City board and commission meetings will also be occurring on many of the evenings, the recommended fees do not cover the cost of increased security.
Summary of Recommended Changes
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Current |
Proposed |
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Available during business hours (8 a.m. - 5 p.m.: M-F) |
ü |
ü |
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Available during evening hours |
Monday - Friday |
Tuesday - Thursday |
|
Reservations made 14 days in advance |
ü |
ü |
|
Meetings can be scheduled until 8 p.m., attendees exit by 8:30 p.m. |
ü |
ü |
|
Rental fees |
Meeting Room A, B or lunchroom: $30 Meeting Room A & B: $60 Reflect only setup and cleaning costs |
Meeting Room A, B or lunchroom: $90 Meeting Room A & B: $150 Reflect setup, cleaning, administrative and billing costs |
|
Fees due |
30 days after invoice |
7 days after invoice |
|
Cancellation if fees not received |
Not enforced |
Enforced |
|
Security for meetings after 5 p.m. |
Front door attendant only |
Off-duty police officer to supplement |
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Other government agencies may utilize meeting rooms at no cost |
ü |
ü |
This recommendation is aligned with the direction of continuing to allow outside meetings, provides an easily understood schedule, meets the capacity needs for room availability, and increases the security for meeting attendees, staff and the overall building.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated additional costs of $42,000 for increased security, with an anticipated future offset for reducing current security hours on Monday and Friday evening. Increased revenues projected with increased fees.