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Community Commons Meeting and Event Rooms (to be rescinded 1/3/2023)

The Community Commons serves St. Charles County as a center for community engagement designed to support nonprofit, government, and community organizations by providing professional space for meetings, trainings, research, programs, forums, and general capacity building activities.

The Community Commons is governed through a defined collaboration between the St. Charles CityCounty Library and the Community Council of St. Charles County (Community Council) with the intention of developing and overseeing the services in the Library’s Community Commons.

Unless specifically outlined below, all Library Policies shall apply to the use of the Community Commons rooms. The Community Council of St. Charles County shall manage the meeting rooms in accordance with Library Policy C250 and the following regulations:

All Community Commons Rooms

  1. Applications for the use of the Community Commons rooms must be made online through the Library’s room reservation system or by contacting the Community Council of St. Charles County directly.
  2. A responsible party must be a minimum eighteen (18) years of age or older to reserve a Community Commons room. 
  3. Library customers reserving a Community Commons room may be required to pay, prior to the use of the room, a cost recovery fee to the Library (see fee information below).
  4. All groups serving food and/or beverages in the Community Commons Rooms will be assessed a cost recovery refreshment fee for the general cleaning of the rooms (see fee information below).
  5. When reserving Community Commons Rooms, groups will select a room arrangement from a menu of standard room configurations with associated fees for non-standard arrangements.
  6. The unauthorized use of open flames such as canned heat, gel fuels, candles, gas grills, and torches is strictly prohibited.
  7. Library and Community Council sponsored programs shall receive priority in the event of a scheduling conflict.
  8. The Library and Community Council reserve the right to adjust room assignments based on scheduling needs.
  9. In accordance with C057, Fundraising Events in Library Meeting Rooms and Event Rooms, outside fundraising events are not considered appropriate use of Community Commons Rooms. Only those fundraising events held under the direction of the Library shall be permitted.
  10. Personal events, including but not limited to birthday parties, play groups, wedding receptions, and reunions are not considered appropriate use of Community Commons Rooms.
  11. Meetings may be closed to the general public, provided that the meetings are held in compliance with RSMo 610 (the Sunshine Law). Pursuant to the provisions of RSMo 610, space will be designated within the branch for public posting of meeting times and agendas.
  12. Normally fees or collections for admission may not be charged. Educational programs, including those conducted by the Library and its partner agencies, may assess cost recovery fees.
  13. Meeting Rooms may not be used for commercial purposes, (i.e., sale of goods or services, executing fee-for-service agreements, or securing contracts of commitment to services provided elsewhere). Public programs must be listed or presented as informational, educational, or instructional. Presenters shall make no direct solicitation of attendees to secure clients or customers for their commercial purpose.

Meeting Rooms (Rooms 259, 263, 265)

  1. In accordance with Library Policy C250 Meeting Room Policy, all library customers may reserve the Community Commons Meeting Rooms during normal Library hours. All meetings must conclude in time to vacate the facility in advance of the regularly scheduled closing, typically fifteen (15) minutes before the close of the Library. The use of meeting rooms as polling places during public elections shall be exempt from this provision.
  2. Library Customers may reserve the Community Commons Meeting Rooms for use during the current month and/or the following month. Customers may not book more than one time in a twenty-eight (28) day period for the same group or entity.
  3. The Library, Community Council, and Members of the Community Council may make multiple reservations in a twenty-eight 28) day period, schedule Meeting Rooms up to one (1) year in advance, and use the Meeting Rooms outside of normal business hours by directly contacting the Community Council.
  4. If a reservation is to be cancelled, organizations are required to notify the Community Council or the Library twenty-four (24) hours in advance. A failure to notify the Community Council or the Library of the cancellation of a reservation may result in restricted access to the Community Commons Meeting Rooms and the assessment of cost recovery fees associated with the use of the room
  5. The reserving organization shall ensure that the Community Commons Meeting Rooms are left in a professional manner (e.g. wet sink area and tables are clean, the coffee pot is cleaned and unplugged, trash is deposited in appropriate bins, and the chairs are returned to the original positions).

Event Rooms (Rooms 240 and 243)

  1. Community Commons Event Rooms may be reserved for use up to four (4) months in advance and may not be booked more than one (1) time in a ninety (90) day period for the same group or entity.
  2. The Library, Community Council, and Members of the Community Council may make arrangements to schedule the Event Rooms up to one (1) year in advance and make multiple reservations within the same ninety (90) day period. Under normal circumstances, members of the Community Council may not reserve a meeting more than one (1) time in a one month period.
  3. If a reservation for the Community Commons Event Rooms is to be cancelled, organizations are required to notify the Community Council or Library two (2) weeks in advance. A failure to notify the Community Council or Library of the cancellation of a reservation may result in restricted access to the Community Commons Event Rooms and the assessment of cost recovery fees associated with the use of the room.
  4. At the Community Commons the Library will require the use of a preferred caterer if any alcohol is served and for all food service with the exception of light snacks such as cookies, donuts, or bagels. The Library shall establish and maintain a list of preferred caterers in support of this function.
  5. In accordance with Library Policy C187 the consumption of alcohol on Library grounds by library customers shall only be permitted at events authorized by the Library Director.
    1. The distribution or sale of alcohol on Library grounds may only be granted to third party vendors that are licensed and insured to serve Alcohol in the state of Missouri, and are acting in compliance with all applicable county and city ordinances and regulations governing the sale or distribution of alcohol.

When conflicts arise between the proposed use of the Community Commons Meeting or Event Rooms and regulations presented in this policy, the Board of Trustees of the St. Charles City-County Library shall have the final authority in granting or refusing permission for use of the meeting or event rooms.

Community Commons Use Fees

Porter Fees

A porter/custodian fee of $25 an hour will be assessed for groups projecting attendance of more than one hundred persons. Groups projecting attendance of more than two hundred persons will require two porters.

Room Cleaning Fee

Groups serving snacks or catered foods during their meeting/event in any of the Community Commons rooms will pay a refreshment clean up fee of $25.

Community Commons Room Setup

Effective July 1, 2020