The agenda for the Naperville City Council meeting on Tuesday, December 16 at 7PM contains a item recommending that non-governmental groups no longer be allowed to rent meeting space in the Municipal Center; this item shows up near the end of the Agenda as Item O.1.:

Approve the recommendation to discontinue meeting room rentals at the Municipal Center to all outside non-governmental groups effective July 1, 2026 and authorize meeting room use at no charge between January 1 and June 30, 2026, for those outside non-governmental groups that utilized Municipal Center meeting rooms during calendar year 2025.

Here are the details of the proposal.

Contrary to City Staff assertions, there are few good alternatives for relocating our meetings. For instance, to effectively rent space from the DuPage UU Church we would need to change our meeting day to avoid extensive room setup in a non-ideal space. We can’t rent school space as suggested because School Board members can’t participate in political events on school grounds, and we have several regular members who would be affected. Some venues, such as libraries, usually can’t be reserved far in advance, potentially resulting in last minute changes and location uncertainty.

Therefore, I’m urging LTDO members to review these materials, as well as how to send comments to City Council Members (see the list in the Data Center post, or even sign up to speak at the meeting to lobby against this proposal. The first page of the Agenda lists the ways to provide comments. Naperville residents would have the most influence on the Council’s decision, though others affected can comment as well.

Thank you for any help you can offer!