This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It doesn't happen often, but now and then groups rent out portions of Salt Lake County senior centers for weddings, birthday parties or weekend-long bridge tournaments.
Up to now, the county has had an inconsistent approach to charging for facility usage, with costs varying from senior center to senior center, and payments made in the form of a donation.
That will change as of Jan. 1, when Salt Lake County's new budget kicks in. The budget up for approval Tuesday by the County Council provides for a maximum daily fee of $600 or a $1,000 fee for a multi-day event, such as a bridge tournament that starts Friday evening and goes through Sunday afternoon.
"There hasn't been much demand for our facilities," said County Human Services Executive Director Lori Bays, projecting the fee will raise less than $10,000 a year. "We just want to cover our costs so that our resources are going to services for older adults rather than providing meeting space."
The council endorsed a higher fee schedule recommended by the Division of Aging Services two weeks ago. But on Tuesday, the issue was reconsidered and the caps were put in place to lessen the financial impact on groups that do use any of the 10 county-operated senior centers.
Council members also asked Aging Services for a quarterly report on the impact of the fees and whether any particular groups were hurt.
"I have some concerns that we put an exorbitant amount of money into our senior centers and I fear we may disenfranchise people who really rely on the system," said Jenny Wilson, who will become an at-large council member in January.
"We're OK with monitoring this over the next year," Bays said.