VIENNA — At the Oct. 16 City of Vienna meeting, City Clerk Karen Dudenhoeffer gave an update on the new policy the city is working on for the horse arena at Vienna City Park.

At the September city meeting, city officials and employees discussed issues with the way some people had been using the arena. Some people had left the lights on all night. Some had stolen locks. City Hall had received calls from members of the public who were concerned about livestock being left in the arena without water or shade.

Utilities Superintendent Shon Westart, who was not at the September meeting, said at the Oct. 16 meeting that in addition to things already mentioned, the area was trashed and both hydrants were broken. He said people were taking advantage of the city.

The aldermen wanted to adopt a new policy. Dudenhoeffer said she had been working with City Attorney Ross Bush to draft the new contract. Bush had suggested using similar language in the horse arena contract as the city did with coaches using the ballfield at the park. He also added a paragraph about the use of the electrical box.

Dudenhoeffer said she would send the aldermen copies of the draft once it was complete.

South Ward Alderman Brenda Davis said she wanted to make sure the policy included that no livestock may be left at the arena overnight without written permission from the city.

North Ward Alderman Rita Juergens added that she wanted the policy to say that owners could not leave the animals unattended overnight. If the arena hosted a two-day event, the animals could stay overnight if someone stayed onsite.

Westart said another problem at the horse arena had been people making the gate look locked when it was not locked. People without a key were able to access the arena.

Juergens said if that is an issue, then the contract should state that if someone fails to lock the arena then they should lose access.

Police Chief Shannon Thompson suggested requiring a trash deposit for events at the arena if the city expects trash to continue to be an issue. He also said the city might want to consider charging a percentage of gate prices for events as a maintenance fee for the grounds.

Dudenhoeffer said the horse arena contract will include a deposit for the key. She asked how long the aldermen would want key rentals to last.

Brenda Davis asked Westart what he thought would be a realistic term for key rentals.

Westart said he thought a week would be realistic. Juergens and South Ward Alderman Chuck Davis both said they agreed.

Brenda Davis suggested renting keys to the horse arena on an exclusive basis for a period of up to one week. If one person had the key for a week, no one else would be able to get an arena key during that time. When someone went to City Hall to rent a key, they would need to specify the dates they wanted it.

Chuck Davis asked what price everyone thought the city should set for a trash deposit.

“You want it to be enough that people clean up,” Brenda Davis said. “If we’re going to let people use it for free, then I don’t think there’s any reason whatsoever we can’t require a $100 deposit.”

The aldermen discussed a few deposit amounts but opted to choose one at a later date. There would be no grandfathering or exemptions to who pays the deposit.

Dudenhoeffer said the contract would also need renters to specify if they intended to use the electrical box. The key to the electrical box would come at an additional deposit and the contract would state penalties for damaging or leaving on lights.

“You have to make it such that people don’t want to lose their money,” Brenda Davis said. “If they’re not going to take responsibility on their own, then we have to more or less have severe enough penalties that they don’t want to lose their money.”

The contract was not ready for a vote, so further revisions may occur before the aldermen approve it.