Cosmopolis council weighs $50 refundable deposit for park covered-space reservations

The Cosmopolis City Council spent significant time reviewing a draft parks reservation and rental agreement modeled after Aberdeen's, focusing on whether to charge a refundable $50 deposit for reserving covered spaces.

"The rental fee is lower $50 versus a $100. We felt like that was kind of a lot to ask of our citizens, but the rental fees are to help our public works staff," a council member said while explaining the proposal. Supporters emphasized that the fee and deposit would pay for cleanup when groups leave trash or damage facilities.

Opponents expressed worry about enforcement and fairness. One council member asked, "Is Tom gonna go down and tell little Sarah to pack up her birthday party and go home?" and argued the city should avoid a system that would routinely displace informal park users. Another councilor said the application applies only to covered spaces, not entire parks, and that signage and posted reservation times would indicate reserved periods.

Mayor Springer and other council members described Highland Park's volunteer-based reservation system as a workable model and said volunteer monitoring, posted signs and a calendar on the city website would help. Staff said the deposit would be refundable if users leave the covered space and park in good condition; public works would collect the deposit and administer cleanup enforcement.

Council members agreed more review and fine-tuning are needed before adopting the agreement. The parks committee will revisit the draft and the city will share the form with citizens for feedback before any formal adoption.