TIMMINS - The cost to use the city's main park is going from zero to $2,000.
While that jump was a lot for Coun. John Curley to swallow, new rental rates for the Hollinger Park festival and event space have been approved. It means that people renting the space on the south side of the property will pay daily rates in 2025.
"We've been slowly improving that area. Last year, we had a number of different events that were held at that location. We also had to turn away a couple of events due to the work that is ongoing on the site," clerk Steph Palmateer told Timmins council on Tuesday (Dec. 10).
The new fees are:
- Weekday (Monday to Thursday) daily rate - $1,850
- Weekend (Friday to Sunday) daily rate - $2,200
- Set up and take down daily rate - $200
- Damage deposit (refundable) - $2,000
The $200 set-up fee is for people using the space ahead of the start of the event. If a festival is being held on the weekend, for example, and organizers want to start setting up on Monday, there is a $200 daily charge.
The changes are expected to bring in $10,000 next year.
To make way for using the baseball field and the surrounding area for festivals and events, the Timmins Men's Baseball League moved from the Fred Salvador Athletic Field to École secondaire catholique Thériault.
RELATED: 'We saw this transition as inevitable': League backs Hollinger baseball field relocation
In 2024, Rock on the River, the RV Show, Beauce Carnaval, Indigenous Peoples Day, and the Khalsa Day event were held in the event space. The city says RibFest was one of the events that had to be relocated due to the work at the site.
The rates approved, said Palmateer, reflect what other cities charge for similar spaces.
While Curley raised concerns about it going to $2,000 from nothing, Mayor Michelle Boileau noted that organizers have ticket sales and other ways to generate revenue.
"Many of the events that have already taken place at that site have been recipients of the MAT (municipal accommodation tax) grant, and that can be applied to pay for rental fees to the municipality," she said.
For smaller groups, the city also has a grant that's available for charitable and non-profits.
Other than when the area was used for concerts, Palmateer said it hasn't been available for rental. The city is just getting an idea of what kind of events can use the space.
"You couldn't put things like the Beauce Carnaval or the RV show because of the way the grounds were set up they would they would damage the field, they would damage the grass. They wouldn't have been able to use it," he said.
Coun. Bill Gvozdanvoic questioned the appearance of the park and how the grass is maintained.
"Because it looks terrible ... that should be the crown jewel, especially since it's in the heart of the city. Do we not fertilize that to make that grass look like a golf course?" he said.
The city isn't done upgrading the site, said Palmateer.
Once the drainage improvements are done, he said they'll make the space look much nicer. He's not sure how the grass is maintained, but will find out.
