Local & State Headlines

Quail group eyes alternative sites

• Negotiations regarding rental of the Albany Civic Center will require some face time between city officials and Quail Unlimited Inc.'s chief.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — Although Quail Unlimited Inc. already is scoping out at least one alternate site for its annual sporting event, the organization maintains that it’s hopeful it can continue to host its Celebrity Quail Hunt in Albany, world capital of the game bird.

Rocky Evans, president of the Edgefield, S.C.-based group, said other potential sites for its star event include Thomasville, Valdosta, Tallahassee, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas, which Evans said he’ll visit this weekend.

Still, he said late Thursday afternoon, “You can’t find quail hunting like this anywhere else in the country.”

The first hunt was held in Savannah, Evans said, but was relocated to Albany the second year. The event started off at one location with “a little over 1,800 acres,” he said, and today is organized on 51 Albany-area properties with a combined area of more than 200,000 acres.

Despite Quail Unlimited’s 20-year relationship with the Albany community, fees associated with the rental of the Albany Civic Center for the Jan. 24-26 event have caused for bumpy negotiations.

“We like the venue, we like the time of year. Everything tends to work out for us there,” he said during a phone interview. “But I don’t think there’s very many individuals in my position that would have looked at that proposal (any other way).”

Evans said last year’s contract for the civic center was for $11,660. Though he didn’t say how much the latest proposal asks for, the original figure presented to Quail Unlimited was $24,895, The Herald reported Tuesday per a conversation with Evans.

Wes Smith, assistant city manger for customer service and support, said the city has responded to most of the seven contractual concerns expressed by Quail Unlimited.

Evans, however, said it’s still not reasonable, especially given the long-term relationship between the agencies.

He said that while the city has eliminated a $5,000 deposit and offered to increase the costs over three years — as opposed to Quail Unlimited absorbing the new costs on the first year — fees such as utilities and a receptionist don’t make sense.

“When we go to other places,” he said, “they don’t charge us for the rental of the parking lot or for electricity.”

Smith said Wednesday that adjustment of the civic center’s rate fees includes a $500 charge for utilities, which he said is the average, daily expense of running the facility sans event.

“The things that pushed the envelope too far were equipment rental, parking lot fees, power fees, receptionist, security and then banners,” he said. “Our people hang a lot of banners, and this year they (the city) want to charge $10 per linear foot.”

Evans noted that in negotiations, fees for security were absolved. He said that Quail Unlimited hires Albany Police Department officers for the job.

Smith said that rental costs for chairs and tables, which increased from 50 cents per table and $2 per chair to $3 and $8, respectively, is competitive.

But Evans doesn’t quite see it that way.

“It’s market price for a rental agency,” he said, “but the civic center is not a rental agency.”

Smith said that the city isn’t looking to necessarily make money off of events, but just wants to recoup the costs associated with renting out the Oglethorpe Boulevard facility.

The city official said Thursday that he’d finally been able to reach Evans, to whom he “expressed some concern over the lack of contact.”

“I wanted to make sure (that he knew that) we wanted to talk to them and that there were definite opportunities to reach a conclusion.”

Evans, who said he’s had conversations with Albany Mayor Willie Adams and members of the Albany City Commission over the contract, also is eager to resolve the situation.

“The point that I would make to the city of Albany is that I really want the negotiation process ... to work,” he said. “I’m comfortable and confident that we can work something out, and I really want that to happen.

“We’ve built so many friendships there. We know the businesses that we go in and work with every year. We know the hotels. And for the most part,” he said, “we know what to expect.”

Evans said he will be in Albany Monday to meet with city officials.

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