The Barrington Town Council voted 5-0 to forgive nearly $2,000 in fees owed to the Barrington Police Department by organizers of two events held last summer in town. 

The FLM FWD film festival accrued $439 in police detail fees from its event held on the Barrington Town Hall property last August, while the Courtyard at the Cove block parties compiled a total of $1,481 in unpaid police detail fees. The Cove events took place on four Fridays in July and August.

In his memo to the councilors, Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey wrote that the previous town manager, Jim Cunha, had issued an email stating he supported waiving the film festival’s police detail fees. 

“Based on the expressed intent to waive Film Forward’s costs, it is my opinion the police detail bills should also be waived for Courtyard at the Cove at Police Cove Park,” Mr. Hervey wrote.

Mr. Hervey also wrote that Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia informed him that the police department budget could “absorb forgiving the fees, totaling $1,920.” Both events were privately sponsored, “but organized with input from the town and open to the public at no charge.”

Mr. Hervey wrote that events like the film festival and Courtyard at the Cove help “build community.”

Mariana Silva-Buck, a member of the town’s Planning Board, organized the Courtyard at the Cove events. In an email to the Barrington Times, Ms. Silva-Buck wrote that she did all the work herself.

“…the event was free to the public but it costs a lot of money to put it together,” she wrote. 

Ms. Silva-Buck wrote that Courtyard at the Cove was not established as a non-profit event. She wrote that some vendors were charged $25 per event, while sponsorship fees varied. Barrington Pop Warner was charged $200 to be sponsor, while other sponsors paid $500 each. One sponsor, Ms. Silva-Buck wrote, paid $5,000.

None of the food vendors were charged, Ms. Silva-Buck wrote. She also listed some of the costs associated with running the event: the DJ and live entertainment were paid between $250 and $700 per event; there was a rental fee for the portable restroom, the beer garden set-up, and rental of a storage pod, in addition to the marketing and promotion costs. 

“…the event manager was paid since I didn’t have a committee,” Ms. Silva-Buck wrote. 

During the March 7 meeting, Ms. Silva-Buck took time to thank the town officials who helped make the Courtyard at the Coves so successful. She said it was the biggest event in town. 

Waiving other fees?

At the March 7 meeting, councilors discussed the events and whether to waive the outstanding police detail fees. 

Annelise Conway asked if the town would forgive police detail fees for other community events, such as the Nayatt School 5K road race. Barrington resident Thomas “TR” Rimoshytus asked a similar question — would the town waive the police detail fees for the Barrington High School After Prom event?

Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll said he did not have an answer to those questions, but added that the council should be exploring that issue. There was talk about the fee forgiveness being directly attached to the public nature of an event. Some questioned whether fees should be forgiven if the event is not open to the public, but instead is for an invited group of people. 

Council member Carl Kustell said the film festival and Courtyard events were much-needed and it made sense to forgive the fees. He also suggested the council refer the fee waiver idea to some other boards and commissions, so they could offer their input or recommendation to the town council.

Ms. Silva-Buck suggested that the item be referred to the Planning Board, the Economic Development Commission, and the Park and Recreation Commission. 

Mr. Hervey in his memo, offered some guidelines for the waiving of police detail fees: he wrote the event should be free and open to the public; the town should approve the vendor selection process; the group planning the event should be a non-profit organization; the site must be kept clean; and the maximum cost forgiveness should be $500 per day.

At the March 7 meeting, Ms. Conway made two motions. The first was to waive the police detail fees for the film festival and the Courtyard at the Cove. The second motion was to have the town manager draft a policy, with input from the Park and Recreation Commission, EDC and Planning Board, regarding the waiving of police detail fees. Both motions passed 5-0.