By NATE KING
Salina Post
At its Monday meeting, The Salina City Commission issued several proclamations and voted in favor of amending the municipal city code pertaining to special event permit fees.
Commissioners voted, 5-0 in favor of Ordinance No. 23-11177, which defined key terms relating to special events; including block parties, parades, and rolling parades. The commission also unanimously approved Resolution No. 23-8155, which reduced special event fees by 50%.
Fees for special events in Salina will now range from $12, for an event where no city services are required, up to $1,250 for an event that would require multiple different services of the city.
Supporters and participants of the Annual Salina Toy Run were present to make their voices heard. In front of a packed city commission meeting room, Salina Toy Run organizer, James Trepoy, spoke about how he felt after logging on to the City's newly built website to discover that fees had risen significantly.
"I'm not really computer savvy and I had a hard time finding where to go," Trepoy said. "As I was putting in information, all of a sudden down at the bottom of the screen it said $500 and it freaked me out."
Trepoy explained that in prior years the fees for the Toy Run have been $35. On Wednesday, Trepoy called the City of Salina and spoke with a city employee about the fee and was told that the person he needed to speak with, Lauren Driscoll, was not available.
"There were about four conversations with one particular staff member who frankly didn't have the authority to make a lot of determinations as it relates to where this conversation might be going," Salina City Manager Mike Schrage said. "The intent was to try to take that conversation up on Thursday, and social media conversation got ahead of that."
Trepoy informed Toy Run attendees via social media about the city's new fee structure and how it would affect the event.
"I was just trying to let friends know what (I thought) I was up against," Trepoy said.
Schrage said city staff looked at the Toy Run's application to see what caused the fee to be exceedingly high.
"We had conversations with staff about what their event is and what classification it got put in, and that was based on the size and the customized route," Schrage said. "There was a conversation about a lower-cost approach with one of the predetermined routes, but that doesn't correspond to the route that they prefer. By the time we were able to get in contact, we indicated that we were headed down the path of proposing a rolling parade approach at a much lesser permit fee and that seemed to be acceptable to Jimmy."
A "rolling parade," as now defined by municipal code, is "a march or procession consisting of people, animals floats or vehicles, except for funeral processions, upon any public street which, as determined at the discretion of the Salina Police Department, can be safely managed without the use of static traffic control devices, and instead utilizing police escort vehicles with visual and audible signals."
Schrage mentioned that the permit and application fees levied for special events are not intended to make up the cost on the city's part.
"I'll just reiterate this point, we never went into this with the expectation that was gonna recover costs," Schrage said. "That's just not practical when you start factoring in staff time, overtime and city resources. So whether the current fee structure or a lesser fee structure, the goal is not cost recovery."
According to Schrage, the revised fee for the Annual Salina Toy Run will be $100.
Public comment
During the meeting's time for public comment, it was mentioned that nearby cities, including Hutchinson and McPherson, have no fees for holiday parades like toy runs.
"We help out the police department and they've been very good for 27 years," Trepoy said. "I was just wanting to lower the price for everyone, churches too. They have things they can't afford also."
At the close of his remarks, Trepoy thanked the commission for working toward a compromise. He also asked the commission to close their eyes and imagine what Christmas morning was like when they were children.
"Remember Christmas morning when you were a kid and you were opening presents? The joy. We are part of that for Ashby House and DVACK," Trepoy said. "Sorry, I got some people kind of flustered, but thank you [the commission] very much."
Susan Leech, chief financial officer for the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas, one of the organizations that benefits from the toys collected during the toy run, spoke during the time for public comment.
Leech said she was pleased with the community's response and she was thankful the commission decided to lower the fees. However, personally, she would like to see the fees eliminated altogether.
"I appreciate how much this community cares about our [DVACK's] mission," Leech said. "Personally, I am optimistic that this will be readdressed and potentially Salina will join other towns in our area by eliminating these fees for charitable groups altogether."
The Vote
Prior to the final vote, Commissioner Trent Davis made a motion to include an amendment to reduce the fees for block parties as $0.
Commissioner Greg Lenkiewicz followed Davis in discussing his own concerns.
"My gears have been turning and possibly, this might open up a can of worms, maybe a different pricing structure for charity events," Lenkiewicz said.
Most, if not all, of the meeting attendees clapped in agreeance.
"Just because it's a nonprofit charity, that does not mean that a lot of city resources won't be expended," Davis said. "When we're looking at this from the business perspective, it's the city resources. If a large charity event requires two ambulances, 10 policemen, and 20 streets closed, that's no less than an impact on the city as if it was for a for-profit buisness."
Lenkiewicz agreed with Davis.
"I agree because at what point does that stop? If you're en route to a charity event, and you're buying gas, you go to the gas pump and tell the attendant 'Hey, this is on the house man. I'm going to a charity event' and 'Hey this fast food is on the house because I'm going for a charity event," Lenkiewicz said. "I do think I'm good with this passing with the understanding that, like many things we do, it is up for potential review and reconsideration."
Mayor Mike Hoppock said he appreciated the time and work city staff had put in on resolving this issue. He also thanked those in attendance for making their voices heard.
"If we have a problem in the community, contact city staff or contact your commissioner, and give us time to respond," Hoppock said. "We are not the enemy. We all have the same goals. and the Toy Run is one of them. My family, and I am guessing other commissioners support Ashby House and DVACK financially. We believe they're very important parts of our community. I can't fix something if I don't know what's broken. I appreciate the passion the group has for this."
Commissioner Bill Longbine made a motion to direct city staff to refund fees for events that were scheduled under the previous fee structure. The commission agreed to refund the organizations the difference between the old and new fee rates.
Longbine's motion was unanimously approved. Davis recused himself due to his affiliation with one of the groups being refunded.
What are the new permits for special events?
Background
Prior to 2022, the City's Special Event Permit existed but no code, fees, or enforcement was in place.
"The permit was simply a long list of questions to gather details in order to figure out what codes, policies, and procedures overlapped with the event," City Manager Mike Schrage said.
On December 3, 2018 at a City Commission Study Session, staff proposed the idea of a Downtown Arts, Commerce and Entertainment District (ACE District). On the heels of the downtown streetscape improvements, this project and its involved public engagement efforts were a result of citizens, business owners, decision-makers, and City staff recognizing a need for "code infrastructure" in order to support and enhance the new physical infrastructure within Downtown.
In March of 2019, with more than 35 stakeholders and organizations represented, a stakeholder group began meeting to create the ACE District. The stakeholder group, staffed by two departments, Arts and Humanities and Community and Development Services, met roughly every two weeks for almost a year.
The group recommended not only an improved permitting process but also a set of clear regulations that would outline a scalable range of permit levels based on event complexity, application deadlines, fees, and fines to ensure fairness for all.
On December 12, 2022 the City Commission adopted Ordinance 22-11141 and Resolution 22-8099. The ordinance established the rules, regulations, and process for special events and the resolution established the fees.
According to The City of Salina, staff has issued 45 permits for a total of 67 special events. On September 25, 2023, at a City Commission study session, staff presented the data related to special events permits issued since the ordinance and resolution were adopted, the City services required for those events, and the associated fees.
Direction from that meeting suggested that lowering the fees would be more in keeping with the spirit of a lively community while still requiring commitment by event-holders.