The 40% rate increase in electricity for commercial properties also affects the city. The weekend rate for special events at the Page Sports Complex is $3,600. Getting a better rate requires council approval. Council will make exceptions if the event draws visitors to Page. It’s good for the economy, though difficult to quantify.

In the past, rates were reduced $1,500 with a refundable $1,500 deposit. This was the deal Full Moon Classic organizers received in the past, and they would like the same deal for their June 23-25, 2023, event. Yes, it’s short notice, but that’s not the only complication. The electric rates go up July 1. 

City of Page Mayor Bill Diak proposed raising rental fee to offset the increased electrical costs. Electricity for a normal summer weekend was about $300. When Full Moon Classic hosts their softball tournament, the electrical cost was close to $1,000 for the weekend. If these estimates are accurate, a 40% increase will bring the electric bill to $1,400 for the weekend. Then there’s the city maintenance, trash removal and other expenses the city covers for the weekend event.

The question is, how much will 30 softball teams, along with friends and family, contribute to Page’s economy? 

Andrew Thatcher addressed council. His family runs the Full Moon Classic.

“I bring this business here because I enjoy coming here,” Thatcher said.

“If it’s not going to move forward, it can go elsewhere. There’s a thousand other opportunities. I mean, it’s not cheap for anybody to come here, but I can tell you right now of the teams we have, several of which have come back every single year, they say this is the most fun tournament they play in. We play at night so we can go to the lake during the day. They also come here, they bring their boats, they bring their trailers, they stay, so a rough estimate for this year will be 250 rooms of which are occupied by this tournament. That's a big chunk of change.”

Diak told the council that he would “put an amendment out there that would up that to $2,000, and I'm fine with the deposit of $1,500.” 

“I think that the way things are going, we know that they're going up and this is not for just this year, this is trying to move it forward year after year so you don't have to sit here – that [Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Cormier] makes the decision and doesn't bring it to city council because it's an operational thing. It shouldn't be the city council making the decision every year,” Diak said.

“That's why we hire [City Manager Darren Coldwell] and he hires [Cormier] to make those decisions, not that we sit here and waste your time coming here to do this, and we sit here, and then we debate it for 20 minutes or 30 minutes.”

Council voted to give Full Moon Classic the $1,500 rate. Mayor Diak was the only dissenting vote.