Commission approves updated facility rental policy and fee schedule
By: Shelia Mader
The Jackson County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an updated rental policy and fee schedule for county-owned facilities during a recent meeting.
County Administrator Jim Dean told commissioners the update follows a review of the county’s policies governing the rental of public facilities.
“We’ve presented the new rental policy for the facilities of Jackson County that the county owns,” Dean said. “We’ve recently gone through some additional updates to those policies and also modified the fee schedule slightly. Now that we’ve completed that review, we’re asking for board approval of the new policy as well as the fee schedule.”
Commission Chairman Jamey Westbrook asked for clarification on the fee structure included in the meeting packet.
“Can you tell us what the fee schedule is?” Westbrook asked, noting the information was included in the meeting agenda materials.
Tourist Development Council Director Kelsie Jackson explained that most of the existing fees were developed several years ago using internal staff analysis based on factors such as square footage and facility capacity.
“Most of the fees that are still in place were developed a couple of years ago with some strategy by internal staff as far as square footage and maximum capacity,” Jackson said.
She noted that only a few changes were included in the latest update.
Among them:
● A $10 increase for the bullpen rental at the Penn Avenue Extension Office, raising the fee from $50 to $60.
● New fees for dance floor rentals at the Jackson County Agriculture Conference Center
● A $400 cattle event fee at the Jackson County Agricultural Center, based on recommendations from local rodeo and roping organizers
● A revised tractor-use deposit policy, allowing event organizers to pay a single $500 deposit rather than separate deposits for the facility and tractor
Jackson also explained that the dance floor rental fee is structured based on size and includes a deposit because of the labor required for setup.
“It takes a significant amount of staff time to set up,” she said. “There’s a $200 deposit, and the price is based on size. The standard size is 12-by-12 and starts at $450, going up to $1,000 for the maximum size. Those rates reflect the market for that type of rental.”
Commissioner Paul Donofro asked for clarification about how the fees apply at the county’s convention center.
“So just for clarification, if you rent the Endeavor Convention Center it’s $500 per day,” Donofro said. “But if you want to use the dance floor in addition, it’s an additional fee?”
Jackson confirmed that the dance floor is a separate rental with pricing based on size.
Donofro said the explanation matched what he could see in the document.
The discussion also drew lighthearted comments from commissioners who noted the difficulty reading the small print in the agenda packet.
“I need a lot of help reading that,” Commissioner Donnie Branch joked.
Donofro then made a motion to approve both the updated facility rental policy and the revised fee schedule, which was seconded by Branch.
The motion passed 5–0.