Complaints from people who have rented Newton park shelters this year have prompted the Newton City Council to enact a policy and fee change. Newton City staff says the frequency of issues or complaints regarding the condition of a shelter left by an earlier renter increased this year. Staff also noted how inefficient it is to pull parks staff from other jobs and projects midday to clean between a morning and afternoon park shelter rental. 

To address these issues, Newton staff members recommended and the City Council unanimously approved changing to single day rentals for all park shelters. They also approved a rental increase, moving the current half-day rental fee of $50.00 to $75.00 for the full day. The staff feels any potential decrease in revenue caused by fewer rental slots being available will be easily off-set by the increased rate and staff efficiency. 

The changes to Newton park shelter rentals will take effect January 1st.