Want answers? You’ve come to the right place! I often get asked to respond to issues in unofficial social media groups, and while I truly want to answer all of your questions, social media is time consuming and can be difficult to monitor. I would inevitably miss someone’s question or comment, so I need a format that I can track to ensure I respond to every question you ask.
I started this Ask Me Anything (AMA) as a way to share answers with you. If you have a question or would like clarification on anything Highlands Council related, please submit your question online. Although I may not have every answer, I will respond to all submitted questions. I look forward to hearing from you!
There has been a lot of speculation on social media around this topic, so in this edition of Ask Me Anything, I’ll be answering questions about Blakely Hall rental rates.
What is the rationale behind the rental rates for Blakely Hall?
I definitely understand the frustration around rental rates. Unfortunately, running and maintaining a large facility like Blakely Hall is costly. As with most things in this economy, the costs of operating and maintaining the aging building have increased. In determining our pricing, we look at market rates for similar facilities and carefully consider our own staffing and operational costs. In October 2022, we raised our rental rates to reflect those growing costs.
Our goal isn’t to turn a profit from private rentals, but instead use them to keep Blakely Hall open to all and available for community programs, groups and events. That being said, we are constantly listening to feedback and evaluating our pricing and policies to make the best decisions we can for the community.
Why don’t you offer discounts to residents?
We used to! However, we discovered a large percentage of our renters were non-residents who used an Issaquah Highlands friend to book the hall for them. This caused many logistical and legal issues, and rewarded those who “cheated” with a lower rate (and took away legitimate rental opportunities from residents). Since private rentals are private and do not build community, we decided the best solution was one rate for all.
Why can’t we rent Blakely Hall for a party during the week?
We want Blakely Hall to be a community space where people can gather and connect, and as such, we have many community groups that use the hall to meet during the week. When we rented Blakely Hall on weekdays, those community groups were often “bumped” for paid rentals. This caused a lot of frustration and made it difficult for our community groups to keep up momentum. By keeping our business week available for community groups and recurring rentals that benefit the community (tutoring, art classes, fitness classes, etc.), our community groups have been able to grow and prosper.
If our HOA dues go to fund Blakely Hall, shouldn’t we get to use it whenever we want?
The short answer is your dues do not fund Blakely Hall. Blakely Hall is owned and operated by Highlands Council, not the Issaquah Highlands Community Association (IHCA – your homeowner’s association). Highlands Council is funded primarily by community enhancement fees, which are paid into Highlands Council upon the sale of an Issaquah Highlands Home (a “pay it forward” model put into our community’s governing documents by the master planner, Port Blakely.) We also receive an annual community enhancement fee from commercial properties and most multi-family housing units in Issaquah Highlands. This also means that when the housing market is down, so is our main income stream. During those times, we rely on rentals to keep the doors open because we don’t have the funds to supplement the operations and maintenance of Blakely Hall from our organizational budget.
Do you have further questions on this topic? Please submit a question below or reach out to me at lindsey.p@ihcouncil.com.
