The Soldotna Parks & Recreation Advisory Board will meet for a work session next month to review the city’s reservation policy for Soldotna Creek Park.
The work session will come after months of public outcry over a June drag performance, which some said was obscene, held in Soldotna Creek Park as part of the 2022 Soldotna Pride in the Park event.
Soldotna Parks & Recreation Director Andrew Carmichael said during a Nov. 3 meeting of the advisory board that city administration, including himself, City Manager Stephanie Queen and City Attorney Brooks Chandler have been reviewing the city’s existing policies.
Some of the language, Carmichael told board members, is outdated and, in one instance, “unenforceable by law.” Regardless of the Pride event, Carmichael said the language needs to be updated.
“There’s portions of the general code that need to be updated,” he said. “Whether this event happened or not, this is the impetus to make change and so we’re working towards that.”
Among the changes the city has considered, he said, is designating days when Soldotna Creek Park cannot be rented out as an event space. The city enforces a similar policy at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, where the center is closed until 3 p.m. every Monday for maintenance.
As part of the general policy review, Carmichael told board members that the city is taking another look at the park use application, the park reservation and use policies, communication of park events and the definition of obscenity.
Board members voted at the Nov. 3 meeting to hold the work session on Dec. 12 at 5:30 p.m. City meetings can be streamed on the City of Soldotna’s website at soldotna.org.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
