Renting the Belgrade Library community room just got more expensive

BELGRADE — Renting space at the Belgrade Library and Community Center will soon cost more after the Belgrade City Council approved a new master fee schedule during its Tuesday meeting.

Under the new schedule, renting either side of the library’s community room will cost $400 for up to four hours, with additional time billed at $100 per hour and a $250 security deposit required. Renting the full combined space is set at $700, with $150 hourly overages and a $500 deposit.

By comparison, the Bozeman Public Library offers its meeting rooms free of charge, though use is limited to public, non-commercial events. In Belgrade, city manager Neil Cardwell said the newly approved fees will apply only to private rentals, not city-sponsored events open to the public.

“The fees are there to have the cost recovery for when private events are held in our spaces,” Cardwell said. “The actual cost of those fees is determined based upon what the overall cost it runs for the city to provide that space.”

With a maximum capacity of 238 people on the north side, 150 on the south and up to 338 combined, the community room is designed to accommodate a range of gatherings, from smaller meetings to large events.

The facility also includes access to a non-commercial kitchen and audio-visual equipment, which are available for an additional fee on top of the base room rental.

“We got public feedback many years ago that maybe there’d be people who’d want to do wedding receptions or things like that in here,” Cardwell said.

If the space is booked for a private event, Cardwell said at least one staff member would be on site for the duration — adding to the city’s overhead. Mayor Mike Meis expressed support for the fees as a way to cover those costs, and Cardwell noted the rates were determined by looking at similar venues in the area.

“The fees are in line with what other entities charge,” Cardwell said. “Reserving a much smaller room from a local hotel runs pretty expensive these days.”

The new building, which opened last April, was funded in part by a $14 million voter-approved bond, along with private donations, including $1 million from Tim and Carmen Sheehy, bringing the total project cost to about $22 million.

Library officials later explored asking voters to approve an additional levy to help cover rising operating costs, but city leaders said they had no plans to pursue a new tax measure, opting instead to manage expenses within existing funding. Cardwell said the higher rental rates aren’t tied to construction costs and maintained the project stayed within budget.

The Tuesday meeting was the council’s second reading of the master fee schedule, and it passed unanimously with no public comment.

While the council settled the cost of using the space inside the library, improvements just outside will take a bit longer. Flashing crosswalk lights for the Main Street intersection outside the library are planned as part of the Belgrade Urban project, but council members said the earliest expected installation is in 2027.