Orem's new policy of charging outside groups for use of the City Center facility has caught local Parent Teacher Associations by surprise.
They don't like it.But city officials say parking at the City Center has become a scarce commodity for employees and visitors.
Besides that, Orem has been charged fees for holding town meetings and such in schools for years.
Lori Neusome, Orem Council PTA president, said she was not notified of the change in policy and was dismayed to find a $20-an-hour fee in place. The Orem Council represents 21 schools throughout the community and generally draws about 50 people to its meetings.
The City Council approved a fee policy in December charging groups a rate ranging from $20 to $40 an hour (with a two-hour minimum) for the rotunda or council chambers to $30 to $50 an hour for the multipurpose room, depending on whether the group is nonprofit, nonresident and/or associated with a commercial enterprise.
The PTA currently falls under the designation of Group B use for political, nonprofit and governmental groups.
"That's ridiculous," said Neusome. "We've never been charged and we've been meeting there for years."
The Orem PTA Council meets four times a year, and the $160 the city would charge would be better spent on educational enhancement, she said.
Neusome complained at one of the town meetings in March and has heard nothing since from city officials.
She said her pleas appear to be going nowhere.
John Park, assistant city manager, said the council intends to talk about the policy as part of the budget discussions now going on. "We have a real problem. We don't know where it's going to land," said Park.
Melody Downey, city recorder, said the city is usually billed for using the school buildings in Alpine School District for activities like town meetings.
The district has a policy divided into several class designations including a "free use" designation. It's up to the individual principal to determine which category a group falls into, said public relations spokesman Michael Robinson.
Downey said Cascade Elementary has always charged the city for using the school auditorium. Northridge Elementary has charged "a couple of times" for using their media center. Hillcrest Elementary and Bonneville Elementary principals have charged the city once each. Orem has never paid a fee for use of the auditorium at Cherry Hill Elementary or the cafeteria at Mountain View High School.
The fee reflects the actual cost to the district for keeping the building open and providing power, said Downey, between $23 and $48 an hour with a discounted rate for each succeeding hour.
Commercial entities can expect to pay up to $840 an hour for use of an auditorium at one of the high schools and $300 for use of a cafeteria.