Hampshire park district makes fees consistent

The cost of renting a meeting room at the Hampshire Park District building will cost some groups a little more, but the rental fee to use local parks won't burn such a large hole in event budgets after park district board members implemented a flat discount rate for not-for-profit organizations.

Board members on Wednesday voted 4-0 to charge not-for-profit organizations based within the Hampshire Park District boundaries half the regular rate to use facilities such as meeting space, picnic shelters and parks.

The rate excludes the Gary D. Wright Elementary School Gym, which costs $70 per hour for the full gym. Board members said the full rate is applied because the park district is still paying off the facility.

Although some board members suggested charging up to 80 percent of the cost, board member Eileen Fleury, who participated in the meeting via speakerphone, said a deeper discount was needed.

"I would hate to see Hampshire organizations have to look somewhere else because they can't afford to pay for Hampshire facilities," Fleury said.

Previously, the district had charged not-for-profit organizations about 30 percent of the full rate. In addition, the new rates halved the cost of renting Bruce Ream Memorial Park and Ralph Seyller Memorial Park. The board last month approved charging $500 per day to use the parks, which organizers of Hampshire Coon Creek Country Days said contributed to the cancellation of this year's event. The daily rate would now be $250 per day.

"We did this to have consistency across the board," board member Betsy Gross said. "We're not just changing it for Coon Creek."