Oxford commissioners press for binding insurance and indemnity language in OCC use agreement

Oxford commissioners spent the July 26 work session pressing the Oxford Community Center (OCC) to provide binding assurances that the town will be listed as an additional insured and that the town will receive copies of subleases and certificates of insurance before events.

Holly, the town manager, said the town’s review began in August 2025 and that the documents OCC has used do not currently list the town as an additional insured as required by the underlying lease. "We were not listed as an additional insured on the policy, which OCC is expressly required to do under the terms of its lease with the town," Holly said. Commissioners described a recent unposted event that served alcohol as an example of the risks created by not having pre-event visibility.

Commissioners objected to the OCC’s proposal to replace a town-approved lease template with an OCC-maintained ‘‘use policy’’ that would be referenced in subleases. "If we're just receiving a signature on a use policy that could be changed, the town has no standard way of knowing these subleasing terms," a committee member (Speaker 3) said, arguing the town must be able to see who the sublessee is, the purpose of the event, the duration and whether alcohol will be served.

Several commissioners proposed a practical path forward: identify the non-negotiable clauses (insurance, indemnification, alcohol safeguards and certain operational details), require that those clauses be included without variation, and have the OCC provide the town with copies of any agreement with its sublessee prior to the event (a suggested seven-day submission window was discussed). Katrina (Committee member, Speaker 2) moved to require inclusion of specific sections (sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11) and to revise section 12 to reflect the OCC's policy language; the motion was seconded by another committee member. The transcript shows the motion was moved and seconded but does not record a final roll-call vote.

The commissioners directed staff to continue negotiations and to return the revised language for a formal vote at a later meeting. The commissioners also emphasized the town’s authority under the original 1980 lease to approve subleases and the need for a binding mechanism to ensure compliance and protect taxpayers.

Next steps: staff will continue editing the draft agreement and provide recommended language and administrative procedures for pre-event submission to allow commissioners to exercise their oversight.