Common Space Policies DRAFT 2022
Scope of Service
Yates Illuminates provides meeting rooms with some modern audio/video (AV) technology at no
charge to tenants. Meeting rooms are only to be used for meetings. Private social events are not allowed, including
birthday parties, baby or wedding showers, graduation parties, retirement parties, etc. Groups, and the meeting they are holding, must qualify to use the meeting rooms.
Qualifications
The following parties have priority usage of common spaces at Yates:
Yates tenants
Gifford Park Neighborhood Association (GPNA) and Gifford Park neighborhood-related community events
Yates Illuminates has a set of criteria for groups and meetings that qualifies them for using Yates common spaces. To uphold Yates’s mission, vision, and values, any non-programming meeting requests will be reviewed and approved based on the proposed activity or type of meeting at the discretion of Yates governance.
Qualified Groups and Meetings
Groups we do host include area nonprofits, engaged Yates groups, community-based programs, educational institutions, government agencies, and student-run engagement focused organizations. The types of meetings we do host include community engagement meetings, educational meetings, government sponsored meetings, and student engagement meetings.
Non-Qualified Groups and Meetings
Groups we do not host include for-profit businesses, individuals seeking office, groups promoting a candidate for office, and social fraternity and sorority organizations. The types of meetings we do not host include private social events, for-profit events, business promotions, and commercial events to sell merchandise or services, solicit for later sales, placement of orders or client contact by commercial business that do not promote the good of the community. athletic activities, or fundraisers. Yates does not provide daycare or allow rooms to be used for daycare of children.
Facility & Operations
Hours of Operation | Weekends | Inclement Weather
Yates Illuminates is open and staffed by tenant partners Monday - Friday, from 8 A.M - 5 P.M, with the exception of weekends and holidays when the need arises. Yates Illuminates is currently staffed by tenants on the weekends. Yates Illuminates follows the OPS Inclement Weather Policy. If Yates closes due to inclement weather, Yates common spaces will be closed, and all reservations will be cancelled. Meetings may be re-scheduled on the next day Yates Illuminates is open for business.
Room Condition | Furnishings | Capacity | Social Distancing
Yates will supply the room(s) as indicated in the reservation confirmation. The Guest is not allowed to move furnishings between rooms, including chairs from rooms they have not reserved. Upon conclusion of the meeting, the Guest is responsible for returning the room to its original condition and cleanliness. Cleaning supplies are available upon request.
Room capacity is based on five (5) considerations, and regardless of the setup, must conform to these needs:
1. Fire Code/Emergency Egress, so that Guests can leave a room quickly.
2. Rescue Squad Ingress, so that Guests requiring medical attention receive it quickly.
3. ADA, so that all interested people can participate.
4. Comfort/HVAC, so that Guests can concentrate and have a good experience.
5. Pandemic Social Distancing
Prohibited Actions and Items | Liability for Damages
No writing on walls, windows, floors, or any other Yates surfaces, except boards with proper writing tools.
No unapproved signage of any kind is allowed. Nothing, including chartpak paper and adhesive flip chart paper, may be tacked, pinned, nailed, stapled, taped, or otherwise attached to any Yates surfaces.
External electrical equipment and supplies, e.g. coffee makers, crock pots, air compressors, etc must get pre-approval
No improper use of furniture, resources, and equipment.
No open flame, including candles and sterno pots. The only exception is through approved catering or through receiving prior approval.
No animals are allowed, with the exception of bona fide service animals.
Please notify the Yates staff of any damages or broken items prior to the end of your meeting re-set time, before you leave. Yates Illuminates reserves the right to charge Guest for missing and/or damaged goods and property.
Reservations
Priority
Reservations of the Yates Illuminates common spaces by Yates and the organizations residing in Yates will be given first priority, and they may book in advance with some hourly restrictions per room. All other reservations will not be reserved more than 1 year in advance. The Guest is responsible for contacting Yates to make a reservation once they become eligible. Please keep in mind that Yates Illuminates will continuously accommodate first priority requests. For routine reservation requests, send an email to mhandre@YatesIlluminates.org. Please indicate if your event is flexible or fixed when booking more than 6 months out. Guests must make their own reservations; proxy, hosted, or sponsored requests are not allowed. A guest may not reassign their reservation to another Guest. Please include the following information in your reservation: Title of the meeting/event, Brief description, date, meeting start time, meeting end time (including set up and cleaning time), approximate number of people, and any parking needs. For same-day requests, rooms are available on a first come, first-served basis.
Right to Refuse and Reassign Space
Yates Illuminates has the right to refuse or limit room use and can cancel or move bookings from one space to another as needed for internal purposes. Any changes will be communicated to the Guest as soon as possible. Additionally, Yates Illuminates reserves the right to ban or
limit future use of the building by Guests that fail to comply with the policies of Yates Illuminates.
Booking Limits on Consecutive Meetings
Rooms are not available for use as a regularly scheduled meeting, classroom, or study space. Guests may request to reserve up to twelve (12) dates at a time, with no guarantees of the same room on all twelve (12) dates. A new request will have to be submitted towards the end of your first request for the next series of twelve (12) meetings. Yates does not automatically renew. It is the responsibility of the Guest to submit a new room request form for their next series.
Fees | Commerce
There is no charge for using the Yates meeting spaces and presentation technology for Yates tenants. Outside groups will be charged a fee on a sliding scale basis, as decided by the Yates governance board. If there is a large event planned with food and drink, a deposit will be required. There will be a liability clause for common space usage that will waive all other fees or deposits associated with common space usage.
Set-up and Re-set Time
The reservation confirmation will include 30 minutes of allotted time scheduled for set-up and re-set. Please let us know if you require additional set-up and re-set time. We require that rooms are returned to their original state when finished, including multi-day meetings, unless arrangements have been made with the Yates staff.
Night-Before Set-up | Storage
Space must be reserved for set up and break down time. Reserve space as “Set Up Time” for when the space is needed for prep time, so other tenants are aware. Tenants can contact the tenant reserving the space directly if they need to use the space concurrently.
Cancellations
Please inform Yates Illuminates as soon as possible of any cancellations, so that the space may be opened up to other interested groups.
Parking
No reserved parking is available at Yates outside of ADA parking stalls. Guests and tenants are responsible for finding parking in the Yates parking lot or on the adjacent neighborhood streets. Tenants prioritize parking spaces for visitors or guests. If a large number of guests are planning to attend an event, we recommend using the parking lot at Midtown Crossing, which is a 10-minute walk from Yates. There is a ORBT bus stop located at 33 rd & Dodge, a roughly 5-minute walk from Yates.
Loading & Unloading policy
Large items that need to be unloaded close to Yates must do so in the designated loading areas.
Food & Catering
No Temperature Controlled Food Policy
Food brought into Yates Illuminates for meetings must be able to be kept safely at room temperature. Caterers need to align with building values and are responsible for having their own liability coverage. Temperature controlled food is not allowed to be catered or brought into the building, other than by Yates-approved vendors. Non-temperature controlled foods, e.g. pastries, candy, chips, are allowed if they are individually packaged.
Sterno policies
No Alcohol Policy
Alcohol is not permitted in the Yates building without prior consent and approval. The Guest must contact Yates administration, at least four (4) business weeks prior to your meeting.
Submitting the request is not a guarantee of approval. Alcohol requests that will be granted are limited to specific Yates rooms and times.
Covid Food Policy – triggered based on Douglas County Health Levels
To reduce incidents of not wearing masks, no food or catering is permitted, only bottled water.
Food service at events should be significantly limited and where possible avoided. As a part of the event registration process, any proposed food must be approved by the designated senior administrator. Distribution of food through bake sales, selling of franchise food items as fundraisers, or potlucks will be not be allowed. For events with food, the following guidance is permitted.
All food distributed should be individually packaged
Beverages should be individually packaged (e.g. can of soda, bottle of water or juice)
Building Services
Printing | Copying Services—not yet in place
Yates provides printing services and is available to all tenants. A code will be created for each tenant that will be used for printing purposes. At the end of each billing cycle, each tenant will be billed in accordance with the amount of printing done that month.
Special Considerations
Policy Compliance
Yates retains control of the management of the Yates building and the enforcement of Yates Illuminates policies. The Guest will conform to all policies and regulations listed in this document, and the laws of the City of Omaha and the State of Nebraska.
Photo and Media Opt-out
Tenants are responsible for gaining consent from any individual(s) before taking their picture.
Tenants are responsible for having the proper consent forms before Yates will publish photos on public platforms.
Who can use it?
Who takes priority?
Tier 1:
Tenants
GPNA
Priority for spaces based on mission or perhaps lead org responsible for each space (e.g. GPTC on gym, RWR on kitchen, MCC on classrooms, GPNA on yard…)
Tier 2: (Can they use ALL/any spaces?)
Non-profit
Immigrants/refugee org
Individuals
All others…
For what?
Not for private events (e.g. wedding reception) - open to public
Needs to meet the mission and be valuable for Yates Illuminates
How much/how often can TENANTS use?
First come/first served
When you make a reservation, alert goes to all tenants + have 24/48 hours to request an
adjustment/compromise
Indicate flexible vs fixed
At the CEC they have a 6 month open to the tenants, and then one month out they open to
the public
Each tenant gets an allocation (eg. 10 per month or # of hours, perhaps by room)
o Pros: more fair, start with “have it and how want to use it all” vs. hold everything at once
o Con: not all orgs need same spaces
o Idea: combine # of allocated hours + time window to reserve + master planning session
quarterly (i need this space for # of hours)
o Idea: weighted by org needs/mission, or a swap system - or donate to tenant pool of
hours. Or one org “owns” a space and other orgs go to them to request
o Idea: a way to identify when needs are conflict and communicate so it’s not 100%
automated - Great system with ability to dialogue as humans
In exchange for what?
Tenants:
First dibs, for any event, at no cost (use and cleaning included in rent) - assumption is that tenants are working to fundraising for building operations as a whole.
Optional: Kickback to Yates.
Outside:
Sliding scale
Possibly GPNA pays
Events of value to all = less fees
Liability, cleaning, etc.