Hall fees waived for charities
By Chris Simon

Non-profit groups can kiss their rental fees goodbye.

Innisfil council approved a proposed new policy for banquet hall and public community room rentals, which includes the waiving of user fees for non-profit organizations that benefit the town.

The policy review comes after council noticed a nonprofit organization was being charged a different user rate than all other groups.

"The adoption of the community room rental policy (will) provide a consistent level of service delivery to Innisfil residents," said town parks and recreation manager Robert Browne in a report to council.

"Community groups that provide benefit to Innisfil should not be required to pay for meeting room space."

Once the town's new administration centre and Cookstown library and community centre is complete, there will be about 12 publicly-owned community rooms available within the municipality.

The town currently charges $26 per hour for meeting room rentals, with a mandatory three hour minimum booking.

Non-profit groups will get free meeting space because of their service to the community, said Browne.

"The availability of the free public community room rental at the town hall could be evaluated after one year to address any unforeseen issues," he said.

"The purpose of this policy is to identify the guidelines under which the town public community rooms may be rented to the public."

As part of the review, staff compared rental rates with facilities in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Barrie and Essa Township. In Bradford, meeting rates are $35 for two hours, or $50 for four.

Essa rates range from free access to public meeting rooms for small not-for-profit groups, to $85.45 per hour for non residents.

Barrie charges $21 per hour for non-profit groups and $50 per hour for every other organization. However, the city requires a minimum three hour rental at all of its meeting room facilities.