BATTLE GROUND — A new fee structure to rent the Battle Ground Senior Center has one group moving on to greener pastures. After nearly three decades at the center, the Saturday night pinochle group has found a new home for its twice-a-month games.

“They gave us no options,” longtime group member Judy Saleg said Thursday.

Saleg said the group will now hold its games at a retirement home.

Saleg brought her concerns to the Battle Ground City Council at its Jan. 2 and Feb. 5 meetings.

“I’m here to plead for the seniors. You guys — and I’ve been told it’s this body that’s done this — are making it so we can’t play pinochle anymore. We can’t play pinochle on Saturday nights because you keep raising the costs,” Saleg told the council.

Saleg said the group may only meet twice a month, but the gatherings are important to the players.

“We provide a meal, so the seniors have a good meal at least twice a month. They’re getting activities, they’re talking to other people, they’re playing a game to keep their minds going,” Saleg said.

Kim Cederholm, facilities manager for Battle Ground’s parks department, said when she began managing the center three years ago, she found the rates “were all over the board.”

“It was, ‘Tell me how much you can afford, how much can you pay.’ It was all over the place,” Cederholm said during the council’s Feb. 5 meeting.

Rather than continue to charge different rates for different groups, the fees are now divided into two groups: rates for nonprofits and rates for private or commercial use.

“Additionally, renters are required to provide the city with a copy of their nonprofit certification otherwise their rental application would have to be processed at the private rental rates,” Cederholm said Wednesday.

Rental rates vary based on the facility. For the senior center, nonprofit groups pay $15 per hour to rent the main room with kitchen while private and commercial groups pay $30 per hour. Both groups are required to pay a $50 nonrefundable annual maintenance fee.

Three senior citizen groups had been renting the center on a regular schedule. Two of those groups have merged under the nonprofit umbrella of Battle Ground Senior Citizens Inc. The Saturday group was given the option to join the nonprofit but declined.

“They chose to decline again for the third time,” said Sharon Wodtke, president of the nonprofit. “They have moved on.”