Officials consider park fee changes

Columbia County officials took steps last week to raise revenues earned from government-operated facilities.

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New services might be offered at Savannah Rapids Pavilion, as well as a new fee, but the price of an annual pass for Wildwood Park might decrease.

Annual passes for the park currently cost $75 each.

County Community and Leisure Services Director Barry Smith asked commissioners during a Tuesday meeting of the Community and Emergency Services Committee to lower the price of the pass to $30.

By making the pass more affordable, Smith said he hopes to increase overall revenues by selling more of them.

"Hopefully, the volume of sales will supersede" the loss of revenue per pass, Smith told commissioners.

Wildwood Park sells about 120 annual passes each year. For Clarks Hill Lake facilities other than Wildwood Park, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sells about 2,000 annual passes for $30, according to county documents.

That is a $51,000 difference in sales between the county and the Corps of Engineers, Smith noted.

Smith also told commissioners that he wishes to add a $150 fee to those already renting Savannah Rapids Pavilion if they wish to arrive early to decorate or set up for their event.

The new fee would allow facility renters to arrive three hours early for set-up purposes, Smith said.

"Hopefully, that will ease some complaints we've been having with people wanting to enter early," he said.

The new fee would apply to 12-hour rentals from Sunday through Friday. However, according to county documents, the $2,000 rate for Saturday rentals of the Grand Rapids Ballroom in the Pavilion will remain the same, even though the rental time increases from 12 to 15 hours.

More changes for Savannah Rapids might include offering event planning and an alcohol vendor to renters.

Those services would be provided by independent contractors with the county Rental Facilities and Venues Department collecting a percentage of their revenues.

Though event planning would be offered as an option for renters, the alcohol vendor would have to be used for all events featuring a cash bar. Renters could seek an alternate vendor for open bar occasions.

Commissioners likely will vote on each of the proposed changes at their Dec. 14 meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. in the auditorium of the Evans Government Center on Ronald Reagan Drive.