by Geoff Fox
The next time you go to rent the Lions Pavilion in Widmeyer Park, there are going to be a few changes in place that may affect what is allowed at the pavilion. Town officials voted to make changes to the usage agreement at their last council meeting.
When the public rents the pavilion, Mayor Roland Lanehart said people would come to the town office just before closing time on Friday to get the keys to the restrooms and kitchen at the pavilion as part of their rental.
That won’t be the case in the future.
Town officials discussed the liabilities and logistics of including the kitchen and separate bathroom building in with the pavilion rental. 
“The Lions Club does a wonderful job. The kitchen is completely full of their equipment,” the mayor said.
There are two stoves and a six-foot grill in the kitchen and the only way the kitchen can be used is to move the grill, which Lanehart said weighs about 500 pounds.
Lanehart suggested the kitchen not be part of the rental of the pavilion because of the liability of someone or a child going in the kitchen and getting burned on equipment there.
“If it’s a Town of Hancock organization, if it’s a Lions Club, Lioness, if it’s the Girl Scouts, if it’s one of our town organizations where somebody’s going to be in charge, I have no problem with them using the kitchen,” he said.
Councilwoman Terry Breakall-Smith said when the Girl Scouts would use the pavilion’s kitchen, none of the equipment was touched but they used it to wash up equipment or supplies they were using while camping in Widmeyer Park.
“But for the public, I would say no,” she said.
Lanehart said the restrooms present a problem at the pavilion because just about every weekend, his phone starts ringing with people asking for the keys to bathrooms or the keys to the kitchen.
“You can’t call somebody in on Saturday or Sunday to find you keys to unlock doors for you,” Lanehart said.
He noted there are restrooms at the bathhouse by the splashpad that are open, handicapped accessible, and even have showers available.
Councilman David Kerns said when there’s a big crowd, the town would open the bathrooms and kitchen, but not for normal everyday private rentals.
Lanehart said it’s his opinion the restrooms and kitchen shouldn’t be open as part of the Lion’s Pavilion rental.
Councilman Richard Strong mentioned there are grills alongside the pavilion if things needed to be cooked.
Right now, in the contract for the rental of the Lions Pavilion, it’s written that the renter must stop at the town office before the end of day on Friday to get keys or confirm the rental.
Any language about not being able to use the restrooms and kitchen at the pavilion would have to be added to those contracts.
Lanehart said people have called office workers on their private numbers asking about the keys.
“It’s not right for employees if it’s their day off to be called in to unlock for a bathroom,” he said. The town has spent a lot of money fixing up the restrooms at the bathhouse by the splashpad and those are available very near to the Lions Pavilion.
