Clayton Mayor Provides Update With Clayton Business Community Association

On Sunday, Clayton Mayor Jeff Wan provided an update to recent city council actions on the termination of the Master Use Agreement with the Clayton Business Community Association.

The update came 12-days after the council voted 3-1 to terminate the agreement with the CBCA. The CBCA puts on events such as the Clayton Art and Wine Festival, Clayton BBQ and Brews Festival, Clayton Oktoberfest, and the tree lighting event. On March 11, councilmember Peter Cloven issued his statement about the action taken by the council.

Here is the explanation provided by Mayor Wan:

Last week, representatives from the City of Clayton (City Council CBCA Ad Hoc and Interim City Manager) and the CBCA (President and Treasurer) met to discuss ways that the two organizations could move forward and continue to foster the partnership that has enhanced the Clayton community for so many years.

While this was an initial discussion, we did come to a conceptual concurrence on several key items:

– We recognize the unique value downtown Clayton provides as a venue for CBCA events

– We have a desire to continue having festivals in Clayton

– We recognize the value CBCA and its volunteers brings to the community through charitable donations and service

– We recognize that there are costs incurred by the City when events are held in town, and we are interested in ensuring that when CBCA events are held in Clayton, the City receives its fair share of cost recovery

Some of the items discussed included the magnitude of fees waived for permitting (park rental, temporary use permit, noise permit, special event permit, street closure fees, etc.) and overhead costs for staff time. Historically only direct charges (police and maintenance wages, but not overhead) were billed to the CBCA per the Master Use Agreement (the Agreement). This did not include other employment related costs borne by the City such as health benefits, PERS, worker’s comp and other required insurance, indirect maintenance and upkeep, etc. We also discussed certain city property that has been utilized but not included in any historical billings.

There has been discussion in various fora regarding the viability of CBCA sponsored events in the absence of the Agreement – that somehow without the fee waivers and other items not billed, that CBCA sponsored events could not happen. To be clear, the termination of the Agreement doesn’t preclude any CBCA sponsored events, and while the Agreement calls for 60 days notice prior to termination, the City provided nearly double that so as not to impact Art and Wine for which work is already in flight.

In the absence of the Agreement, the fees and costs billed revert to what is described in our City wide Master Fee Schedule and are based on actual costs incurred by the City. The CBCA continues to be welcome and encouraged to hold events in town.

In the coming months, the City will receive information for an updated master fee schedule and rate study. This information will be the basis for any costs established for the services and facilities provided by the City. From there we will continue discussions in order to pursue a new Master Use Agreement.

I understand there is a high level of community interest in how the City and the CBCA continue to work together. I look forward to sharing more information as we continue discussions and thank the community for their patience and support.

Editors note:

The termination will commence on July 1, 2023 which the council stated they hope they can work out a new agreement with the CBCA. By having a July 1, 2023 termination date, it will not impact upcoming events such as the Art & Wine Festival.

Upcoming Events include: