A closed door meeting has been set for Monday aimed at keeping Tacoma’s Wintergrass festival from moving to Bellevue. The meeting is expected to focus on rising hotel rates, parking and other issues that have organizers of the popular bluegrass festival eying a move to Hyatt Regency Bellevue in 2010.

“The city wants to have an opportunity to respond to the offer that they’ve been presented by the Hyatt,” said Tacoma Arts Administrator Amy McBride, who called the meeting. “So we’re doing everything in our power to come up with a package that will entice them to stay here.

McBride did not elaborate on what the city and other entities were prepared to offer Wintergrass. But Wintergrass director Patrice O’Neill anticipated that Hotel Murano and other local hotels would offer significantly reduced rates for Wintergrass patrons, and that the Tacoma Dome might offer free parking.

Hotel Murano is ground zero for Wintergrass activity. “The Hotel Murano has really kicked into high gear and is working pretty hard with Amy and a number of other people to make it possible for us to stay,” O’Neill said.

Among those O’Neill expected to meet with on Monday were Tacoma’s community and economic development director Ryan Petty, Tacoma Regional Convention & Visitor Bureau president Tammy Blount and Tacoma’s public assembly facilities director Mike Combs.

“We want people at the table who can make decisions (and) present the offer with credibility,” McBride said.

“In my opinion they’re an extremely important Tacoma event,” she said. “I think for a town that bills itself on the arts, it would be a real black eye to lose them. They do great work and they need to be recognized for that.”

Apparently, lots of Tacomans agree. O’Neill said festival organizers have been deluged with feedback from patrons insisting that Wintergrass stay in Tacoma, where it has been for the past 16 years. (You can add your two cents here.)

“It’s been honestly quite surprising hearing people be so passionate about Wintergrass staying in Tacoma,” O’Neill said. “It’s nice. It’s very nice to hear. So I think the efforts that the Murano and the city are making and the voices of (fans) are making this a lot harder than it was already.

“At this point I couldn’t tell you what we’re going to decide,” she added. “I don’t think we know.”