Portsmouth City Council Inks Prescott Park Arts Fest Deal

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - The Prescott Park Arts Festival got the green light for at least five more years after City Council approved a new license agreement with organizers. According to Seacoast Online, the Prescott Park Master Plan Committee and the Prescott Park Advisory Committee worked on the agreement.

The committees were formed as a way to try to end some of the discord between the festival and some residents who live near the city-owned park in the city’s historic South End over noise, traffic, intensity of their schedule and the fee they pay for using the park.

Under the draft agreement, the festival was required to pay an increasing annual fee for its use of the park, which starts at $20,000 during the first year and increases to $40,000 during the fifth year, according to a copy of the agreement.

But the council voted to amend the agreement at the request of City Councilor Chris Dwyer, who questioned the wisdom of basing the annual fee on the nonprofit’s gross income or adjusted gross income.

Dwyer’s amendment, which also passed unanimously, keeps the festival’s annual fee at $20,000 for the first year and then refers the question of how much the fee should be for years two to five to the city’s Fee Committee.

To read the full article, visit Seacoast Online.