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Notice/Advertisement Title: Tournament or Event Permit Holder Conflict of Interest Rule
Contact Name: Stephen Dyer
Contact Telephone Number: (614) 645-5639
Contact Email Address: sodyer@columbus.gov
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All Recreation and Parks Department permit holders for tournaments or events at the City’s Prime Sports Parks shall be subject to the below rule, which is intended to prevent individuals who are or have been part of a Department-affiliated organization that holds City money from financially or otherwise benefitting from being a permit holder at one of the Department’s designated Prime Sports Parks.
Prime Sports Park Tournament or Event Permit Holder Conflict of Interest Rule
1. A tournament or event permit at the City’s Prime Sports Parks shall be obtained only by the individual responsible for managing the tournament or event.
2. Conflict of Interest. The Recreation and Parks Department seeks to prohibit individuals who serve, or have served recently, in a fiduciary role on boards or organizations that are affiliated with the Department from holding tournament and event permits for the Prime Sports Parks in order to avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest between the individual’s service on the board/organization and the individual’s personal or financial benefit for themselves, their family, or their business associates. These rules are established to avoid even the appearance of such impropriety. The goals of this conflict-of-interest avoidance are met by establishing the following rule below:
a) An individual may not hold a permit for a Prime Sports Park if they meet either of the following conditions:
1. Within the previous year, the individual held a fiduciary position on a Department-affiliated board or organization charged with overseeing funds collected for the benefit of the City;
2. While serving in a fiduciary position on any Department-affiliated board or organization at any point in time, the individual voted on a motion to approve a contract currently in force at the Prime Sports Park where the individual is seeking a permit.
b) An individual who obtains a permit at a Prime Sports Park cannot, for a period of one year after receiving that permit, hold a fiduciary position on a Department-affiliated board or organization that holds funds for the benefit of the City.
c) No family member or business associate of any individual described in Section 2(a)-(b) of this rule shall be a permit holder.
The Director or their designee shall have the authority to draft the necessary paperwork and or policies to implement this rule.
If any permit holder is discovered to have violated this rule or tried to circumvent it, their permit shall be revoked. The permit holder may be banned from holding any city park permit for up to five (5) years, and they shall be subject to criminal penalties as outlined in the Columbus City Codes §919.99.
Definitions:
• “Family Member” includes spouse, domestic partner, parents, children (biological or adopted), siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, cousins, in-laws or any other person residing in the same household.
• “Prime Sports Park” includes Lou Berliner Sports Park, Kilbourne Run Sports Park, Spindler Sports Complex, Cooper Sports Park, Anheuser-Busch Sports Park, or any future Department or City-designated Prime Sports Park.
Authority:
City of Columbus Code §919.06 allows the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to promulgate policies and rules regarding requirements for issuance of permits for use of parks or facilities. In accordance with City Code §121.05, the above rule will be implemented to allow the Director to determine who shall or shall not be granted permits for Department parks or facilities and shall be effective under Code §121.05 within 10 days upon publication in the City of Columbus Bulletin.