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Florissant: Renting of City’s Portable Stage Becomes an Issue
By Carol Arnett
The Florissant City Council once again discussed fee waivers for rental of city equipment at their executive session Monday night. The council recently passed an ordinance spelling out who could get discounted rates and how often they could get them. At issue Monday was the portable stage the city owns.
The city uses the stage for the concerts in St. Ferdinand Park and at other events. Old Town Partners uses the stage for the Wednesday night concerts held once a month in summer. The new ordinance allows Old Town Partners to rent the stage at a discounted rate twice a year. Some council members wanted to discuss letting the group use it more frequently.
Council President Keith English introduced the issue, noting that it took city staff to transport the stage and set it up. It currently rents for $600, with a reduced rate of $300 available to non-profit groups twice a year.
“The big issue is the cost of transport and set up,” Councilman Andrew Podleski said. He asked for an estimate of the cost of set-up.
Mayor Robert Lowery said that he thought Old Town Partners should be able to use the stage more than twice at the discounted rate. “This is a group whose goal is to get people into the city,” he said. He noted that on the concert nights, Old Town businesses stayed open late. “It helps bring business to the Old Town area,” Lowery said.
Councilman Tim Lee noted that the stage was purchased with federal grant money. He said he would like to see a copy of the grant application and any stipulations regarding its use and rental. “Charging enough to recoup the cost of moving it and setting it up is not unreasonable,” he said.
Also at the executive session, John Grub requested a review of the housing ordinance. “I have received, over the last few months, many, many complaints about rental property,” he said. He said he was not against rental property, but he wanted to review the city’s housing ordinances, especially those regarding rentals.
Lee said he would prefer that the council work as a whole on the issue, rather than forming a subcommittee. Councilwoman Karen McKay agreed. She said that she was on a subcommittee that looked at the housing ordinance last year.
McKay said that last year, the city of Ferguson passed some new ordinances that the subcommittee was interested in. She asked City Attorney John Hessel to provide an update on Ferguson’s ordinance.
