Des Moines rejects 515 Run Club's reduced-fee push
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515 Run Club is again exploring options for its group runs after parking concerns were raised at a popular section of Water Works Park and Des Moines rejected its request for permit-fee exemptions at Gray's Lake.
Why it matters: The dispute tests how Des Moines balances free community fitness groups with safety, congestion and equal access to popular public spaces.
Driving the news: In a letter to co-founder Anthony Arroyo obtained by Axios, city manager Scott Sanders last week rejected the club's requests to reduce or waive trail-use fees.
- 515 must complete the city's permit process — including payment — before its next organized event at city parks or trails, per the letter.
- The club's fees this year could be $4,300 or more, the Register previously reported.
Catch up quick: The club, which started with two runners in 2022, has grown to as many as 190 participants for Monday runs.
- City officials say the group's popularity has led to trail congestion, parking problems, and safety concerns, and earlier this year the city notified 515 that it must pay a $1-per-participant fee to obtain a permit.
Context: Des Moines and other Iowa cities have increasingly sought to diversify revenue as property-tax limits strain budgets.
- User fees are one way to shift some event-related costs from taxpayers to the groups and participants using the service.
State of play: The club has been operating in the adjacent Water Works Park in recent weeks, which is governed by its own board rather than the city's parks department.
- In the meantime, the club asked the city to recognize it as a community partner of the parks and to establish a more flexible permit-fee system for volunteer groups.
- That status is premature because such agreements typically require written commitments, including maintaining city property, donating improvements or providing free city-approved programming, Sanders wrote.
Zoom in: Sanders also questioned whether 515 Run Club qualifies as a "free volunteer organization," citing merchandise sales, vendors at runs, ties to Nike and Lululemon, and the city's inability to find the group registered as an Iowa nonprofit.
- 515 co-founder Neek Robinson disputes that characterization, saying 515 has no dues or entry fees, no organizers have been paid, and the club has not generated sponsorship revenue.
The intrigue: 515 organizers declined a donation to cover the fees, saying they'd rather push for policy changes than accept what they consider unfair and exorbitant charges, the Register reported last month.
What they're saying: Robinson tells Axios that 515 is again exploring options after Water Works had "kind of, sort of" raised concerns, similar to the city's.
The other side: Water Works staff developed a mutually agreed-upon plan with 515 last month that included designated after-hours parking in its general office employee parking area to keep spaces open for other park users at the nearby Lauridsen Amphitheater, Melissa Walker, a utility spokesperson, tells Axios.
What we're watching: Whether 515 finds a long-term home in Des Moines — or takes its runs to a neighboring city with fewer barriers.