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Fee for rose garden may go up
Group wants to increase hourly rate for Central Park area to $50; hearing likely next month
By Lauren Stanforth
Published 10:06 p.m., Monday, August 20, 2012

SCHENECTADY — If you want to get married among the brilliant yellows, pinks and reds of the Central Park Rose Garden, you might have to pony up some more green.

That's because the Rose Garden Restoration Committee, a group of volunteers who are solely responsible for the garden's rebirth over the last 17 years, is requesting that the hourly event rate for city residents be increased from $10 to $50 — and that all the proceeds go to the committee, not the city.

Committee President Matt Cuevas and board member Pam Pearlman told City Council at its Monday night committee meeting that other gardens charge significantly more than $10 an hour for events, and that maintenance in the rose garden is getting difficult to cover with donations and grants alone.

Cuevas and Pearlman noted that since the nonprofit committee was formed to save the dying garden in 1995, the city has provided no money to the group. Now, its operating budget is $45,000 a year and pays for three part-time gardeners, plants, mulch and maintaining a sprinkler system for the 4,000 roses. Two years ago, the Central Park attraction was named the third-best rose garden in the country by All-America Rose Selections, a distinction helped in part by capital projects like installing a fountain and gatehouse.

"I think we've taken a lot of burden off the city and created this jewel," Cuevas said.

Couples who want to get married in the rose garden, or hold another event, must get a permit from the city Parks Department and pay the hourly fee to the city. For nonresidents, the charge is $25 an hour; the committee is proposing it be raised to $100 an hour.........................>>>>................>>>>....................Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Fee-for-rose-garden-may-go-up-3802345.php#ixzz24AzYfyxv

The only half decent thing there is the rose garden, if they get greedy now people will look elsewhere and I wouldn't blame them I also believe they passed the smoking ban in city parks yesterday as well, so now our police will have to try to enforce that as if there isn't real crimes being committed in the city. I doubt anyone will obey the ban, I won't

Instead of raising the fee why not just ask that the couple or any attendees make a donation of whatever amount?

And if there has allready been a fee in place WHY hasn't that money gone to the rose garden restoration commitee in the first place, why is the city keeping it, they don't maintain it?

As for the smoking ban, I can understand the ban in the playground, BUT it's a city park, a public park, smoking is legal, smokers pay taxes.........

wow another jewel.....that word is used so loosely...especially in Rotterdam...

how much to walk with my sweetie and hold hands there? Gonna charge for that? taxes are only 13 grand so why wouldn't I pay to stroll

Surprised the city does not charge the volunteers to the Rose Garden a "fee" for the right to voluntee their work, much like Proctors $75 (or whatever you can afford to donate) fee to volunteer at their shows.

This is pathetic in so many ways.  

God bless Alias..


would have been able to write lyrics to   "I NEVER PROMISED YOU A ROSE GARDEN ::::

Quoted from Mr. Majestyk

Surprised the city does not charge the volunteers to the Rose Garden a "fee" for the right to voluntee their work, much like Proctors $75 (or whatever you can afford to donate) fee to volunteer at their shows.

EXACTLY! Then yell renaissance at the top of your lungs. There already is mandatory work/fees to "volunteer" there. The Rose Garden is the only good thing in that park. Because it is run by volunteers and not the stunad Mayor.

For all they have done to make the Rose Garden a destination area, one of the few in the city, it takes alot of nerve by any on the council to want to skim $$$$$ from the ROSE GARDEN group.   To supplement their empty coffers at the expense of them.   To take away $$$$$ that could further enriching the Garden even more that it is now.   Some thanks the volunteers are getting.    It never should of been brought up.   It's obvious they know how to run a lean/responsible/prudent budget with positive results.  Why not better concentrate on eliminating all the city vehicles being driven home by the employees.   Would venture a guess that more would be saved here, than by "picking" on the Garden Comm.   By the way, wonder where that issue of vehicles being driven home rests on the priority agenda of the council?  

See Mr./Mrs. BOX we do recognize good things about the city.   Now if the city leaders would just  take a  hands off position to a successful entity that benefits the city through no help from them.   Where was the city 17 years ago when this group took over the run down area of the park?

$50 per hour is a good deal.  There are places that charge couples $350 to $750 (depending on time of year and day of the week) for holding a wedding ceremony at their facilities.

Whatever they end up charging, it is only fair that the money be applied towards offsetting the staggering annual cost of maintaining the garden.

Why should the city get $50 per hour for the beauty that volunteers have created. Maybe the volunteers should just quit and let the city care for the garden and in no time at all the garden will be a dump.

Quoted from Shadow

Why should the city get $50 per hour for the beauty that volunteers have created. Maybe the volunteers should just quit and let the city care for the garden and in no time at all the garden will be a dump.

Wait a minute, the city gets the money for allowing people to use the facility that volunteers completely funded?

The city should get nothing.

And they wouldn't be losing money, since they supplied none.

I agree, but why would the volunteers need more money to care for the rose garden if not to pay the city for some kind of expenses.