Advisory board lays out rules and fees for Heritage Park use, suggests promotion committee draft policy

Members of the Main Street Advisory Board discussed and directed committee work on a rental and booking policy for the newly developed Heritage Park, focusing on appropriate uses, fees and operational impacts.

Staff presenter (S4) said the park is designed for daily public use and community events (Music on Main, Fall Fest) and suggested that private events such as family reunions and weddings are better suited to Katy Park. "I don't think, family reunions, birthday parties, or even weddings are really appropriate for that park," the presenter said, adding that staff time, green-room access and sound-equipment wear-and-tear will create costs that should be covered by event fees when those resources are used.

Board members debated a two-part fee approach: a nominal base reservation fee to hold a date (to remove it from the public calendar) plus additional charges for equipment or staff time. One member said reserving a date removes that day from the calendar and argued a base fee was appropriate; another emphasized that community-facing music events could still be booked even if a promoter reserves the date.

The board recommended the promotion committee draft detailed booking rules, including fee tiers for equipment or green-room access and guidance on what constitutes a public versus private event. Members also discussed allowing non-promotion committee members to sit in on planning meetings to contribute specifics.

Next steps: the board approved sending the Heritage Park planning work to the promotion committee for detailed policy development; staff will return with proposed language and fee options.