CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Approve the recommendation to discontinue meeting room rentals at the Municipal Center to all outside non-governmental groups effective July 1, 2026 and authorize meeting room use at no charge between January 1 and June 30, 2026, for those outside non-governmental groups that utilized Municipal Center meeting rooms during calendar year 2025
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DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Marcie Schatz, Assistant to the City Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The primary purpose of the Municipal Center meeting rooms is to support and accommodate the operational needs of the City. A secondary purpose is to provide space for educational, informational, cultural, and civic functions that serve the Naperville community.
Earlier this year, City staff completed a comprehensive review of meeting room reservation and billing practices, including usage patterns and applicable fees (Attachment A). This review was complemented by an evaluation of building security measures, input from the City’s safety consultant, and the effectiveness of existing meeting room policies.
Key findings are discussed below.
DISCUSSION:
The findings are grouped into themes related to safety and security, demand, resource management, operations, and alternate location considerations. These themes have been used to inform and support the above Action Requested.
Safety and Security
No City staff onsite during evening hours
The Municipal Center is not staffed in the evenings. This creates significant concerns related to oversight, building operations, and emergency response. Risks associated with property damage and personal injury are difficult to mitigate when staff cannot ensure accountability or monitor activities onsite. The Municipal Center has a single contracted security person at the front entrance, however this level of coverage is insufficient for a facility of this size and complexity.
Security of the building, meeting participants, and staff
In the fall of 2024, the City implemented new Municipal Center check-in procedures to improve employee/facility security and visitor management. Permitting outside groups in the Municipal Center after the close of business with no oversight undermines the intent of these enhanced security measures.
Demand
Declining usage
In 2015, approximately 900 meeting room reservations were booked by outside groups. In 2024, the number of reservations dropped to approximately 200. The COVID-19 pandemic normalized virtual meetings, likely contributing to the decline.
Resource Management
Costs
The current reservation and billing processes are cumbersome and costly due to the lack of a dedicated reservation system. Further, as noted above, the declining number of reservations does not justify the cost of implementing a system. Moreover, the costs associated with room setup and cleaning exceed the revenue generated from meeting room reservations.
Operations
Increase in complexity of reservations
Challenges related to the frequency of bookings, the allowance of various groups to meet, and other ambiguous policy areas continue to increase which result in ongoing administrative and security concerns.
Alternatives
Meeting room options within the community
There are other venues throughout Naperville where community groups can reserve space.
Staff recommendations
As a result of this evaluation, staff recommends the following:
1. Discontinuing Municipal Center meeting room rentals to outside non-governmental groups beginning July 1, 2026.
2. Authorize meeting room use at no charge between January 1 and June 30, 2026, for those outside non-governmental groups that utilized Municipal Center meeting rooms during calendar year 2025
3. City staff will assist organizations with finding room rental alternatives in the community including Naperville Public Library (<https://www.naperville-lib.org/220/Room-Reservations>), Naperville Park District (<https://napervilleparks.org/facilityrentals>), District 203 (<https://il01904881.schoolwires.net/Page/1496>), and District 204 (<https://www.ipsd.org/departments/building-operations/building-rental-information>)
Outreach to affected organizations
Staff recognizes that this change may inconvenience groups and organizations that regularly reserve Municipal Center meeting rooms. This recommendation was not made lightly and comes after thoughtful deliberation, analysis, and discussion.
On December 4, CMO staff notified the 33 organizations that have reserved a Municipal Center meeting room at least three times within the last calendar year. Three organizations contacted staff about whether the change applied to their group, if additional fees could be charged, and sharing their understanding of the security concerns.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Initial loss of $4,000 in meeting room rental revenue is anticipated to be offset from savings in security contract due to reduced Municipal Center building hours in 2026 and some increase in available Public Building staff and administrative staff time.