Snellville staff unveil draft special-events policy for Town Green and The Grove

City staff presented a draft special-events policy on Nov. 10 aimed at standardizing how outside organizations partner with Snellville to host events at the Town Green, The Grove and designated parks.

Matt, a city staff presenter, said the policy is intended to govern partnered events and that staff drafted four documents: a use policy, a partnership interest form, a full application and supporting forms. "We've been working on for the last, you know, a couple of months a a special event policy for the Grove, the, Town Green, and the park," Matt told the council. The packet explains what the city will and will not provide, vendor and tent requirements, liability insurance expectations and emergency and public-safety plans.

The process outlined is three-step: prospective partners first review the use policy; if appropriate they submit a partnership interest form; then a full application is completed and routed to city departments for review. Matt said the partnership interest form should be submitted "at least 18 weeks before" an event and the full application "at least 4 [weeks] before" to allow public-safety, public-works and other departments to review sections of the application. Staff will then make a recommendation to the city manager for approval.

The policy contemplates fee elements such as security and damage deposits and administrative fees; Matt said a separate fee schedule will be required for council adoption. He also said previously held reservations would be honored: staff will respect first-refusal bookings when allocating calendar dates for partner events.

Jackie was confirmed as the primary staff contact for applicants navigating the process. Matt recognized Mercy, Janine and Brian for drafting the documents and said finalized application forms will be made available online.

The council did not take action on the draft during the work session; staff requested council review and feedback before any formal adoption process. The next steps include council review of the packet and future consideration of a fee schedule and formal adoption.