By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
After a few discussions, a couple of meetings later, the
Great Bend City Council approved a new fee schedule for all of the city’s
services, permits and rentals.
Heavy discussion was had regarding rental fees for conference rooms and
ballrooms at the Great Bend Events Center. The full ballroom, often used for
wedding receptions and fundraisers, will increase from $1,000 to $1,500 per
event day.
The Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau suggested a food and alcohol fee
to the renters, which would fluctuate depending on how many attendees the event
had. Councilmember Kevyn Soupiset felt the additional food and
alcohol charge made the fee more complicated.
"I feel like the sliding scale fee muddies the water with renters and probably leaves a bad taste in the mouth," said Soupiset. "I've even talked to vendors that said it could cut into their tip or their extra on the backside they might earn."
The council voted in favor of the increased fees for the Events Center rentals,
but kept the charges as a flat rate and eliminated the food and alcohol fees.
Another significant change came with the approval of charging renters for their
setup and teardown days. Prior to the change, renters could access the facility
the day before and the day after free of charge. Additional days inside the
facility, beyond the event day, will cost renters half price of the room
charge.
There are already 178 bookings at the Events Center for 2023, 138 events for 2024 and 14 contracts for 2025. Those already booked would be grandfathered in with the previous fees. Future bookings will be subject to the new price.
CVB Director Christina Hayes compared the charges for the Events Center with other other local rentals.
Camp Aldrich charges $1,100 per day Friday through Sunday. The Hays Convention Center charges $2,500 for wedding-type events. St. Patrick's Parish Gym goes for $1,509 and the Page back room charges $400 per day for up to 150 people.
Facility Rentals at the Great Bend Events Center
B-29 Superfortress (Main Ballroom) - Full Room
Old price: $1,000
New price: $1,500
B-29 Superfortress - 1/2 Room
Old price: $750
New price: $950
Fort Zarah Room
Old price: $250
New price: $300
Santa Fe Trail Room
Old price: $250
New price: $300
Additional days outside of standard rental
Current price: $100
New price: Half price of the room
Key/Security Deposit: $500