BELLEFONTE — Almost two weeks after the annual Bellefonte Easter Egg Hunt, the controversy surrounding an invoice for the event continues to linger.
During the April 17 Bellefonte Borough Council work session and meeting, members of the public came out to discuss the invoice organizers received. According to that invoice, the reservation fee of $200 was waived; however, event organizers were billed for the application fee ($25), a deposit ($100), trash and recycling ($40), cleaning of restrooms ($40) and electricity ($5). The invoice totaled $210, although the deposit of $100 would be returned to the organization if there was no damage to Talleyrand, leaving $110 left to pay.
Mary Ann McMurtrie, organizer of the April 8 event, was the first to speak at the meeting. She said she was still confused as to why organizers received an invoice.
“Details should have been ironed out prior to receiving an invoice,” McMurtrie said. “Due to the lack of communication, we were not aware of any fees until the invoice was received two weeks prior to the event.”
McMurtrie said she was under the impression that nonprofit organizations were not charged fees.
“We are a nonprofit group under the HBI (Historic Bellefonte, Inc.),” McMurtrie explained. “What are the breakdowns for these fees? I don’t understand.”
She told council there was broken glass in the gazebo at Talleyrand Park that was not cleaned before the egg hunt. She also said the restrooms at the park were not clean and lacked supplies.
At the conclusion of her public comment, McMurtrie asked council to waive the fee and return a check from an anonymous donor.
Others spoke in defense of McMurtrie and the event.
Bellefonte resident Lisa Coble Dropka talked about the economic impact of the egg hunt.
“As a business owner, I’d like to point out that this event not only benefits the children, but also benefits the restaurants and the downtown stores, which keeps our historic Bellefonte alive,” she said.
Dropka said she was “outraged” by the $110 invoice. She said taxpayers could foot the bill for the egg hunt.
“($110) is less than a penny on our tax bills,” she stated. “(This) could prevent children from getting an Easter basket. Keep in mind that this could be the only Easter basket that these children receive.”
Former Bellefonte mayor Tom Wilson also spoke about the event and what it means to the community.
“If you’ve (never) seen it, it’s unbelievable. It’s the largest one-day event in town. It might be larger than a lot of our two-day events,” Wilson said.
He said he also understands that costs associated with events have to be covered — one way or another.
“I understand that when you have a big event like that, there are some extra charges that the borough has to eat. So, I can understand that there has to be something put into the group’s budget ahead of time to cover some of the costs,” Wilson said. “But the communication has to be done in a timely manner.”
Wilson said council could have avoided any issues simply by making a phone call.
“Mary’s been doing this for 14 years. Could someone just call her and say, ‘Hey Mary, we’re going to have to charge a little bit extra this year because of clean-up,’” Wilson said. “Just do a better job communicating with the public.”
Council did not take any action on the invoice. The next council meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on May 1 in council chambers. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live by C-NET.
