PHILIPSBURG--A new management policy for Stichting Overheids Gebouwen (SOG), the foundation that manages the Festival Village and other government buildings, is currently being finalised by the SOG board and will be submitted to the Executive Council for approval.

SOG's projected target date to have this new management policy plan completed is one month. The foundation gave an estimate of NAf. 380,000 on the 2010 budget for the execution of the new plan.

Structural maintenance of the Festival Village is included in this new plan, something the foundation cannot carry out at present because of lack of funding. Another key aspect of the plan is the amount that will be charged to organisers of events who wish to use the facility.

The purpose of the restructured fees in the plan is primarily to increase the usage of the Village, a facility which some in the community have dubbed the "second white elephant right across from the first" (the new Administration Building).

In its three-year history, besides Carnival and a handful of other events, the Festival Village has not fulfilled its hyped potential as St. Maarten's premier venue for all events, big or small.

SOG Vice President Kurt Ruan said last year, "Our intention is to offer more affordable prices and/or affordable package deals to the general public. At present, the Executive Council sets the prices for use of the Village. We believe that some adjustment in prices can be made to increase utilisation of the Village."

At present, the pricing is determined based on the price of tickets for any given event. Events that are free or have tickets priced at US $5 have to pay $2,500 to use the Village. If the entrance fee is between $6 and $10, the user has to pay $3,500; between $11 and $20, the price goes up to $5,000; and if entrance fees are $21 and up, the Village cost is $7,500. These fees do not include sound, light, and security services.

To support this new plan, the foundation held an open bidding for light, sound, security, marketing, cleaning, garbage collection, and pest control service providers.