In fact, even after the city council approved a resolution for changes to rental fees on Oct. 2, that still didn\u2019t change plans for some. Even the 7th annual Senior Information Expo was priced out; they moved their 2024 event from Copper Sky to the city library for cost purposes.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s cost prohibitive\u2019<\/strong> Even Councilmember Vincent Manfredi noted room costs were high. During a City Council work session on July 25, he shared how much renting space in the library cost him for a job fair he hosted for his business.<\/p>\n \u201cI rented three rooms at the library that lasted five hours,\u201d he said. \u201cThat cost me $800-$900.\u201d<\/p>\n Peg Chapados, committee chair of the Cultural Affairs and Arts Committee, said she has heard murmurs from residents and groups about the price of rental spaces around the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of groups that just want to meet, talk and brainstorm,\u201d she said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to host events. (The city) needs to get that worked out because right now it\u2019s cost prohibitive for most groups.\u201d<\/p>\n Susan Cameron, a local painter and president of the Maricopa Friends of the Arts, agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are finding other places to go to and not using the library at all,\u201d Cameron said.<\/p>\n InMaricopa<\/em> spoke with a handful of other representatives of various groups in the city. All came to the same conclusion: Maricopa government makes it difficult to host events in city facilities.<\/p>\n \u2018We have to pay through the nose\u2019<\/strong> Maricopa Friends of the Arts moved its September fundraiser from the library to Global Water, according to Cameron.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to pay through the nose to have an event,\u201d she said. \u201cWe looked into the library, but it would have cost over $1,000 for the atrium and another room for food. We went to Global Water and were able to have the space donated.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a constant battle for Cameron to find affordable space, and it left her feeling numb to renting from the city again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re basically just moving away from it, and I don\u2019t mind,\u201d she said. \u201cI used to get angry, but I\u2019m just wasting my energy when I could use it to help artists. Eventually, all those rooms will be empty all the time because people won\u2019t be paying to use them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018We lost the support of the city\u2019<\/strong> \u201cThis year, since the city has changed how they\u2019re doing their pricing, it has skyrocketed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For its upcoming five-hour event on Nov. 4, the group will pay $3,650, even after dropping some rooms and other amenities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to do anything else, even after we shortened the length of our event time,\u201d Harrison said. \u201cNone of us make any money on the event. Every penny not directly donated to the American Cancer Society is spent running the event.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization hesitated to approve the event because of the high cost, Harrison added.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year, we had to convince ACS that we would be able to raise enough money to donate funds and cover operational costs,\u201d she said. \u201cBased on the amount of money we\u2019re spending to rent Copper Sky this year, we need to raise over $100,000. Last year, we raised a little over $23,000.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard, because we worked very hard to get our community involved. It feels like the city is making money off our nonprofit,\u201d she added. \u201cI just feel like we lost the support of the city we used to have and in the end it\u2019s harder on everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n Rental rate changes<\/strong> On June 6, Maricopa City Council heard a presentation from the city manager\u2019s office about a proposed adjustment to facility rental rates and policy changes. This included revising the fee structure to reflect different rates for local businesses, residents and non-residents. \u201cWe really want to make sure that facilities are available to our community and available to organizations that serve our community as well, without being overburdensome in cost while also being protected for use for years to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The issue was brought up again during a July 26 work session and finally during a Sep. 19 council meeting. During both, the public and Mayor Nancy Smith reiterated how current costs have dissuaded some residents from using city facilities.<\/p>\n \u201cI have heard from 100-200 different residents that have tried to reserve a room at the library, tried to reserve a ramada, tried to reserve various locations the city has,\u201d she said during the work session. \u201cThey just can\u2019t afford it. And the same is true for the nonprofits.\u201d<\/p>\n After a myriad of changes, the city decided prices would follow a revised fee structure, starting with a base rate for local businesses effective immediately. From there, residents and nonprofits would see a 35% discount from that base rate, while fees for non-residents would increase 200%.<\/p>\n According to a press release issued Oct. 5, the residential and nonprofit rates would be effective Nov. 2. The non-resident fees, meanwhile, will be subject to a 60-day posting period, after which the city council will finalize during a Dec. 5 meeting.<\/p>\n In one example, renting both the Redwood A and B rooms at the library currently run a resident $130 per hour, while non-residents pay $173 per hour. Under the revised rate structure, local businesses pay $130, residents and nonprofits will pay $85 and non-residents will pay $260, all hourly fees.<\/p>\n This results in a $45 per hour discount for residents and nonprofits, something the city said would \u201chelp support local initiatives and community-driven projects.\u201d<\/p>\n But is it enough?<\/strong> Chapados said that while 35% was \u201ca very generous discount,\u201d city officials did not reach out to the nonprofit community about facility usage and pricing recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t publicly say you support arts, seniors and community groups, then turn around and make it cost prohibitive,\u201d she said. \u201cUnfortunately, they\u2019ve discouraged any nonprofit and recreation group from being able to meet at any city facility. Maricopa doesn\u2019t have a lot of public spaces right now and they keep putting roadblocks in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron with Maricopa Friends of the Arts said that even with the price reduction, her organization feels stuck with where to host board and planning meetings.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we don\u2019t have a choice, we\u2019re going to have to follow the price schedule,\u201d she said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t feel good to take money out of the funds that\u2019s supposed to go to grants and artist opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked what the group plans to do in the future, Cameron said they just have to remain hopeful.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just going to do what we can,\u201d she said. \u201cEither that, or we\u2019ll start meeting at McDonald\u2019s or something.”<\/p>\n
\nFor the second time this year, the city contemplated adjusting facility rental rates, which had some residents questioning whether they could afford to rent the spaces they paid for.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inmaricopa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Screenshot-2023-10-30-110604-600x336.png\")
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\nMany groups have opted to move meetings to other locations. Hayes said Maricopa Moose began hosting regular meetings at Northern Lights Therapy, where event space can cost less than $50 for an evening.<\/p>\n
\nJaime Harrison of Relay for Life of Maricopa, a fundraiser to help communities fight cancer and the only such event in Pinal County, said while operating costs over the last 13 years have fluctuated, they have now become unreasonable.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inmaricopa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/BCM_0910-600x338.jpg\")
\nIt seems the city is well aware of the complaints.<\/p>\n
\nShane Stone, then-assistant to the city manager said during the meeting the new fee proposal stemmed from an effort to make spaces cost-effective.<\/p>\n
\nWhen it comes down to it, though, most community organizations felt left out of the process.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.inmaricopa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/spencer-091823-city-facility-rentals-04-600x400.jpg\")