Chamber Official Says Proposed Park Fee Won't Threaten Miners Jubilee

The Baker County Chamber of Commerce moved to reassure festival vendors and the public Monday that Baker City's proposed new fee structure for Geiser-Pollman Park poses no threat to the Miners Jubilee, the county's signature summer festival.

Christopher Hobson, executive director of the Baker County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, sent a statement to the Baker City Herald on behalf of Baker County Unlimited LLC, the chamber's parent organization, saying the proposed increase in the fee charged for park use is "not out of line" and should not jeopardize the event.

The debate centers on how Baker City charges for commercial activity in Geiser-Pollman Park. Under the city's current fee resolution, vendors pay a $150 annual "mobile vendor" fee, though nonprofit entities with Baker County addresses are exempt. Historically, the city did not collect that fee from vendors at events such as Miners Jubilee, but it broke from that practice for the 2025 event.

The proposed new fee schedule would restructure that arrangement entirely. Rather than billing individual vendors, the city would charge event organizers directly, meaning the Chamber of Commerce would bear the fee while individual vendors would not face a separate city charge.

Not everyone at the council meeting took comfort in that framing. Julie Mespelt, who operates a vendor booth in Geiser-Pollman Park during Miners Jubilee, told councilors she worried the proposed increases would ultimately fall on vendors anyway. She cited a potential $900-per-day charge for multi-day events such as Miners Jubilee, arguing that if the Chamber had to absorb that cost, it would likely pass the expense to vendors through higher booth fees.

"I feel that your fees are too excessive," Mespelt said. She was one of two local residents who addressed councilors about the fee proposal; the second resident was not identified in available accounts of the meeting.

The city has not publicly confirmed whether the $900-per-day figure appears in its proposed schedule, and the full text of the proposal, including any exemptions that might apply to nonprofit organizers, has not been released. What remains unresolved is whether the Chamber, as the festival's organizing entity under Baker County Unlimited LLC, would qualify for the existing nonprofit exemption that currently applies to Baker County-addressed nonprofits.