Contrary to what was previously reported, Keene State College will be paying the remainder of the 2014 Pumpkin Fest bill.
A letter KSC President Anne Huot sent to students, faculty and staff on Friday, Feb. 27 read, “It’s my understanding that Let It Shine is in the process of making an additional payment, we will cover the remainder. Reserve funds from student fees will be used. The reserve fund will be repaid by fines collected through our conduct system thus reinforcing the Student Code of Conduct and avoiding penalizing the majority of students. The money will be delivered to the City of Keene, for their disbursement.”
President Huot went on to say that this shouldn’t set a precedent for future events that get out of hand.
In other words, don’t expect KSC to contribute money whenever something goes wrong in the Keene community.
The Equinox reported in February that Ruth Sterling, the festival’s organizer, wanted members of the KSC community to help donate and make contributions.
Sterling works with Let it Shine, the volunteer organization that puts together the Pumpkin Festival.
The group paid $59,000 of the original $90,000 bill, but that left just under $32,000 outstanding. The large bill charged to Let it Shine was a result of overtime fees from police of Keene and surrounding towns and safety services from the city.
Sterling explained that if the rest of the bill is not paid, there will be no Pumpkin Fest 2015.
Huot wrote her hope is that this could strengthen the relationship between the college and the Keene community.
“As a deeply committed citizen of Keene, I see no advantage to letting the matter create dissent any longer. I am hopeful that the potential good that may come from this will move the community forward,” Huot wrote toward the end of the letter.
Read this week’s student assembly for Huot’s clarification of where the money will come from.
Skyler Frazer can be contacted at sfrazer@kscequinox.com
