Berlin Meeting Room Policy Approved

BERLIN – An official policy now governs use of the meeting rooms in Berlin Town Hall.

Last week the town council approved a new policy outlining usage guidelines for the council chambers and conference room on the second floor of town hall.

“It should have been done years ago,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “This is a public building and when it’s for non-public uses I think we have a responsibility to establish some standards and guidelines that are based on the organizations using the space.”

According to Mary Bohlen, the town’s administrative services director, the policy outlines how the room can be used and what is expected of the group using it.

“This is a policy we’d use going forward for outside organizations wishing to use either the council chambers or the conference room for meetings that are separate from town business,” Bohlen said. “It outlines their responsibilities in using the rooms as well as our responsibilities as their host so to speak.”

She said that under the policy, nonprofits could use the room six times a year for free. After that, they’d be charged a $10 fee each time they used the meeting space.

Other organizations will be charged $25 each time they use the town’s meeting space. That fee gives them access to one of the town’s meeting rooms for four hours.

Resident Cam Bunting asked why the town was charging for the use of the rooms now when it hadn’t in the past.

“Because of the use and demand of this room,” Williams replied. “This town does not have meeting space that’s available to anyone…We’re the default so we feel we have the responsibility to set some standard.”

He said it was unusual that the town hadn’t had a policy and fee rate in place before.

“That’s to me very antiquated,” he said.

Resident Sara Hambury asked whether anyone could use the room for any purpose. She said she wanted to be sure the town’s meeting space was used appropriately.

“That’s all spelled out in the policy,” Bohlen said.

Hambury added that she thought $25 was a reasonable fee.

“I think it’s extremely gracious,” she said.

Williams said the town simply wanted to accommodate its citizens.

“Quite frankly I’d rather be known as gracious than not caring,” he said. “In time I hope there will be alternative locations available in this community as it grows.”

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.