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City of Mounds View Staff Report August 29, 2018 Page 2 Relating to food, the first issue relates to food being prepared at the Community Center. In order to prepare food there, it would need to be done in the kitchen (State/County regulations). The Lease with Children’s Home gives them the right to use the kitchen. My understanding is that for other parties to use the kitchen, they need a valid catering license. From a practical standpoint, if any health issues arise, the greater the number of users of the kitchen during a short period of time, the greater exposure to the City (possible neglect for not properly overseeing the different users). In addition, since food and utensils are stored in the kitchen, the more users of the kitchen, the greater the likelihood that problems will arise relating to those items (problems relating to items missing or damaged and which party is responsible). Relating to food served at the facility that isn’t prepared at the facility, there are two options: 1) a temporary event food license issued by the County at a cost of approximately $100, or 2) no license if the event is a private party (only invited guests, no advertising to the public, etc.). The State of Minnesota has indicated that these events have the highest incidence of food poisoning; last year there were 16 cases of food poisoning at such events, or approximately 1/3 of the total cases reported. While in theory, if food is prepared outside and served at the Center, the City should not have any liability, from a practicable standpoint, any party involved in the event could be a party to a lawsuit and while the City may ultimately be found not guilt of any negligence, attorney fees to defend ourselves could be tens of thousands of dollars. To minimize the City’s liability exposure, our insurance agent recommended that we receive a certificate of insurance from any party that provides food at an event, whether they are a caterer, a not-for-profit, or an individual, in the amount of one million dollars of coverage, naming the City as an additional insured. There may be problems with private individuals obtaining such coverage. The other issue relates to setting up procedures to insure that a certificate of insurance is received prior to the event. III. Minimize the wear & tear of the facility The easiest way to minimize wear, tear and damage is to not use the facility, however, this would not generate any revenue nor achieve any public purpose. Therefore, the next best option is to be able to monitor usage and to be able to hold some party accountable for any damage that occurs. While the existing policies require damage deposits, in most instances it is not practicable to obtain a large enough damage deposit to cover anything other than minor damage. To recover costs above the damage deposit from a private party will in a lot of cases, be time consuming and expensive. The next issue relates to monitoring. The greater the number of different providers of services, the higher the amount of monitoring that will be required. For example, if there are three different events on a weekend, with three different providers of food, it will require more monitoring to insure that no damage was done by the previous party, that the previous party is out of the facility by the agreed upon time and that the condition of the facility is how it should be so that the next party can prepare the facility for its use. Relating to set ups and take downs, staff feels that it will be in the City’s best long term interest