Belgrade Library Adds New Fees For Private Community Room Rentals

BELGRADE, Mont. — Belgrade’s library has started charging new fees for private rentals of its community room after the City Council approved a new master fee schedule last Tuesday. 

For groups that want to use the community room to host private events, renting the space in the Belgrade Library now costs $100 per hour.  

The same $100 hourly rate is also applied as an overage fee to any additional time beyond the original booking.  

The city says the change applies only to private community room rentals used for group events - and not public events that are open to everyone – those remain free of charge.  

“You could have a wedding here, you could have a birthday party here, you could say, ‘Hey, our engineering firm is so large and we need space for 150 people and there’s nothing else available in town, we would like to use your space’,” said Greg Tryon, the assistant city manager for the city of Belgrade.  

Deputy Mayor for the City of Belgrade and City Council member Renae Mattimoe said the council used a multi-step process before the final vote, when deciding how to proceed with the cost of room rentals.  

“So, we generally run through a three-step process, where we’ll have a first reading, a second reading, a public hearing and then we’ll have a final vote. So, there were lots of opportunities for us to have questions and discussions,” said Renae Mattimoe.  

City leaders say the new charges are meant to help cover the cost of operating the space; that includes upkeep and utilities for the building.  

“So, we have carpets that get worn down over time, we have power, we have heat in the building so it's comfortable to be in, we have to pay those bills. Those are the big things,” said Tryon.  

The Belgrade community room is designed with a maximum occupancy of up to 338 people. The north side can hold 238 people, and the south side has a capacity of 150.  

In comparison to other libraries in the area, the Bozeman Public Library does not have an option for private event rentals, instead only focusing on public event rental spaces that are free of charge.  

The new fees for the Belgrade library community room has officially taken effect.