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<br />TAW ~FETCFS <br />HARGRAVE &. PEEK <br />GLEDHILL <br />~ULE1vIAN sAMUELE.coLEMAN <br />, <br />, <br />A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION GEOFFREY E. GLEDHILL <br /> DOUGLASNARGRAVE <br />129 E. TRYON BEREFT LE[GH ANN PEEK <br />P. O. DRAWER 1529 <br />HIIISBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLWA 27279 $RIAN M. FERRELL <br />419.732.2196 <br />FAX 919.732.7997 <br />www.cghpdaw.com October 4, 2007 <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />Mr. Moses Carey, 7r. Chair <br />Ms. Valerie P. Foushee <br />Ms. Alice M. Gordon <br />Mr. Barry Jacobs <br />Mr. Mike Nelson <br />Post Office Bax 8181 <br />Hillsborough, North Carolina 27278 <br />Re: Fee Waiver Request for Tent Revival Event at Fairview Park <br />Dear Board Members: <br />This letter addresses the question of whether or not the Orange County Board of <br />Commissioners (the "Board"} may legally waive the current park facility use fee at the <br />request of Reverend Luther Brooks for an Outreach Ministry Tent Revival at Fairview <br />Park. For the reasons that follow, the Board does not have the legal authority to waive <br />the park facility use fee for this event. <br />For same time now, the United States Supreme Court has recognized "religious <br />worship and discussion.. , [as] forms of speech and association protected by the First <br />Amendment [of the United States Constitution]."i The government, nevertheless, ..."has <br />power to preserve the property under its control for the use to which it is lawfully <br />dedicated."2 The United States Supreme Court has adopted a forum balancing analysis'to <br />determine "when the Government's interest in limiting the use of its property to its <br />intended purpose outweighs the interest of those wishing to use the property for other <br />purposes." 3 <br />For purposes of free speech and expression, government property is divided into <br />four categories: [traditional] public fora, designated public fora, limited <br />I Willman v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 253, 269 (1981); Good News Club v. Milford Cen. Sch., 553 U.S. 98 <br />(2001). <br />2 Cornlius v NAACP 1_.egal De£. & Educ. Fund, 473 U.S. 788, 800 (1985). <br />3 United States v Koltinda 497 U.S. 720, 726 (1990). <br />