Town room rules

Monday night, Orange Town Council members voted 3-1 to accept a fee schedule and regulations regarding the use of the town community room, four months after council members voted to close the room to the public completely.
The topic of public use of the room was first discussed in August, when vice-mayor Nancy Alexander expressed concerns about how the room was being used and the appropriateness of those uses. Questions were also raised over whether the breakdown and setup of the sound equipment was causing it to become damaged. Over the next two months, council members discussed adding a cleanup fee, installing partitions to protect the sound equipment and no longer allowing private uses such as wedding receptions or baby showers. In November, council voted 4-1 to close the room to public use effective Jan. 1, 2010.
Earlier this month, Alexander had a change of heart, suggesting a new proposal that would reopen the room to activities other than town council and town planning commission meetings. As part of the proposal, she suggested assigning a public works employee to coordinate the scheduling of the room and requested that the development of a fee structure for groups wanting to use the room. That fee structure was presented Monday night.
Under the new fee structure developed by Alexander and town manager John Bailey, local civic, non-profit, activity groups and in-town businesses will be charged $15 per event, $50 if food or beverages are being served. Private uses will be allowed for town residents only with a $25 fee and a $250 deposit. The deposit is refundable, subject to any cleaning fees or charges for damages. Governmental uses will require no fee.
When the room was closed in November, one of the major reasons was because equipment was being damaged by being moved around. According to Bailey, in accordance with the new fee structure, it is highly recommended that town council tables not be moved. However, if those utilizing the room wish to have the tables moved, they must receive prior permission, the tables have to be moved by town staff and an additional $125 fee will apply.
Those using the room will also need to complete and sign a request form containing 25 guidelines for using the room. These include a maximum room capacity of 125 people, no more than 25 vehicles permitted in the parking lot and the room must be completely cleaned following use with chairs and tables returned to proper storage areas.
Currently, beer and wine is allowed to be served in the community room, something some council members were uncomfortable with.
"I would like to research if [you're] allowed to have alcohol on public property," Alexander said. "I think a lot of damage comes from alcohol."
To remedy the problem, no hard liquor will be allowed in the room and those wishing to serve alcohol in the room will be required to say such when applying to use the room.
Also, liability was a major topic of discussion for reopening the room. Council member Kent Higginbotham questioned if by allowing public use of the room, the town would be responsible for injuries or accidents that may occur in the room.
"Are you willing to tax citizens to underwrite a non-town event?" he asked. "Should the person using the building have a policy that adds [the town] as an additional insured?"
Town attorney Gail Marshall said if the cause of an injury has nothing to do with the town, it would not be liable anyway. She said the town would only be liable if it was found to be negligent. An example would be if there were a faulty toilet that fell and someone injured themselves. She said in that case, the town could be liable.
"The liability would result from town property," she said.
According to council member Harry Hopkins who said he has checked into the question of liability, users of the room are covered by their homeowner's policy. However, if they submit a claim and it doesn't come out the way they wanted, that person could then sue the town.
"But we have insurance and if people sign [a] clause, we're fine," he said.
Under the proposed fee structure and application, applicants that wish to use the room must sign a statement indicating they will hold the Town of Orange harmless for any and all damages or injuries incurred in the room.
Council members voted 3-1 to accept the new fee structure and application. Higginbotham was the lone dissenter and mayor Henry Lee Carter was absent. The room is set to reopen for public use April 15. Reservations can be made in-person at the public works department no more than 90 days prior to the event. Applicants must be at least 21 years old.