Santa Claus is likely coming to Bentleyville at Bayfront Park this Christmas. It seems he'll have no choice; he'll be contractually obligated.
Or, more specifically, the contract between the city of Duluth and Bentleyville creator Nathan Bentley requires Bentley to provide an actor or actors dressed as Santa.
But it can't just be any old guy off the street.
Old Kris Kringle, according to the contract, has to be "an individual whose physical appearance and costuming fully represents the character of Santa Clause (sic) in the traditional form of an elderly, rotund, white haired and white-bearded man, costumed in a red overcoat piped with white fur, black belt with silver buckle, red pants piped with white fur, black boots and red stocking hat piped with white fur."
And lest we worry that Bentleyville's Santa won't be legally required to be jolly, the contract covers that, too. "The actor(s) shall be of the appropriate character and demeanor to maintain a good natured and friendly attitude towards children."
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Why so specific? Chalk it up to lawyerly caution. Deputy City Attorney Alison Lutterman said she had no doubts that Bentley would provide a traditional Santa, but she learned long ago to write up contracts free of ambiguity. So Lutterman described what she thought was the ideal Santa.
"If we didn't specify, we could get a Biker Claus or a Rapper Claus or a Rasta Claus," Lutterman said, tongue planted firmly in cheek. "The goal in drafting a contract is to be clear."
That clarity is why Santa, or rather Bentley, will be legally required to provide each child "10 and under" (11-year-olds are out of luck) with a new knit hat and a cookie, though he's "is not obligated" to provide more than 7,500 of each.
When Bentley read the contract he said he, too, got a laugh from it, saying having a Santa giving out hats and cookies at his Cloquet Bentleyville has been a tradition for the past several years.
"I guess it's funny to have it spelled out in a contract," he said. "There are a few things in there that are amusing."
Other services Bentley has provided at previous Bentleyvilles that he's now required to provide for the city include 12 to 15 open fire pits (and "all necessary wood") and entertainment Friday and Saturday night during the event ("appropriate for a family").
Among the serious items in the contract: Bentley has to operate the lighting festival each day between Nov. 27 and Jan. 2; pay for the cleanup of Bayfront and face paying $2,000 if the park isn't "permanently restored"; and admission for the event has to be free.
In exchange, the city has to clean up the trash at the park, remove snow and pay for all of Bentley's electricity costs for running Bentleyville.
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The City Council is expected to approve the contract Monday night.
