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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-04-24 Government Operations Committee Minutes Government Operations Committee April 24, 2007 Minutes Council Attendees: Hawes, Palmer, D’Errico Staff Attendees: Bates, Gastia, Heitmann, Barrett, Yardley Others: Matt Brann, Franklin Place residents 1. Bike Show – Lower Abbott Square Parking Lot Bates indicated that the owners of Club Gemini applied for an event permit to hold a Bike Show on May 26,2007 (Rain Date: 6/2/07) from 10 am to 5 pm. Planned activities will include the bike show itself, live music, bike wash, beer tent, food vendors, a charity ride at the end of the day, and a variety of vendors and demonstrations. The proposed location is Lower Abbott Square Parking Lot. Bates said that another component of the event is dyno motorcycle performance testing. In staff discussions, the noise level was of concern. Gastia had looked at the overall application permit and suggested some requirements in terms of layout and security, should the Council grant the permit. Because the event is scheduled during the day on a Saturday, staff was not opposed to the event in concept; however, staff does not recommend permitting the dyno motorcycle performance testing in the City-owned parking lot. In the future, staff recommended Club Gemini should consider an alternate location that is not adjacent to residential units. Matt Brann spoke about the event. He wants the Club to be active in the community and this would bring in many visitors to the community. He is hoping it will become an annual event for years to come. Ilene Hodges of Franklin Place commended Club Gemini for their efforts at being good neighbors. She expressed concern with noise associated with the proposed show. It is between the hours of 10 am and 5 pm but she is concerned about the message it will send to bikers in the area who are not considerate. She mentioned an existing problem with bikes on Franklin Street in the night/early morning hours. It is usually weekends. Brann said he is aware of the group. If the group sits in the parking lot too long, the Club owners encourage them to move elsewhere. Chief Gastia said he has worked with the Club regarding the beer tent placement, fencing and other issues. He also said the Club would be required to provide one staffed entrance/exit. He expressed concerns about the dyno show and the associated noise. From a law enforcement standpoint, there is no basis to deny it but it is a top concern. The event will required four police officers to be detailed at the event which will actually require 8 officers due to the hours for the holiday weekend event. He said it would be difficult to fill them. D’Errico asked the estimated number and Brann thought 200 individuals. Once arriving at the event, the bikes would be parked in upper Abbott Square. Bikes involved with the show would be parked in the lower lot behind the Club. Hawes asked if other areas had been considered. Brann said no. Barrett asked the Chief how soon he would know if the details could be filled and, if not, what he suggests. Gastia said he wouldn’t know until the morning of the event. There is rarely an occasion that a detail can’t be filled but it is a holiday weekend. Barrett said that filled detailed is a condition of this particular event. Gastia said the event would go on regardless. He could pull officers from the street and increase coverage in that area from the patrol officers. Responding to Palmer, Brann said their insurance carrier is aware that bikes will be inside the Club. The bikes will be showroom quality. Brann does want the event outside their Club to attract new customers. It is a potential to bring new visitors to the downtown area. If successful, perhaps it could be moved to Bass Park. Palmer isn’t certain Bass Park is the best venue. He suggested the waterfront, as an example, would provide more visibility. Brann said he would consider other venues next year. Brann said the Club has already decided not to have the dyno event. He has no problem with the double fences as required by City staff. Alcohol will not be served inside during this event, only in the beer tent. Numbers and crowd reaction will be used as measures of success. Palmer asked about sponsors. Brann said there are 10-11 categories of bikes and each trophy is sponsored by an outside business. D’Errico asked Mrs. Hodges if other residents of Franklin Street has expressed concern. Hodges said there were two families who contacted her. D’Errico said while the City wants to sponsor business it doesn’t want to interfere with residential concerns. Hodges said she understands the dilemma. Hawes said she isn’t against bikes or bikers. A bike show would be wonderful but this seems to have expanded into a festival in a very small area behind the Club. She feels the noise will be an issue for 7 hours that day. She felt it was late in the planning process to come before the committee at this time. She would prefer to see the event in another location especially on a holiday weekend. Palmer asked if the event could be modified, perhaps with the alcohol left inside. Brann said this event has been planned for sometime. The tattoo tent will now not be a part of the event due to permitting. He wants the alcohol outside to add to the festivities and also have it near the band’s stage, which is near the Club itself. He agreed it is a smaller lot. Measurements have been taken, and everything will fit. Brann doesn’t intend to promote the rough side of the biking community. Palmer asked about crowd management especially if it become unruly. Brann said their security forces will be in place and communicate with the local law enforcement. Heitmann said if the Committee does approve a license, it would be for the use of City property and the event would include the Club property. He recommended license provisions be comprehensive enough to include activities on the private property; i.e. if there are events that the City does not want, it would be part of the agreement. Once in place, he recommended that the beer tent should be designed in such a way that the police would inspect and sign off on it. He suggested that a limitation be set on the band noise. The City would make sure all necessary permits are obtained by the Brann’s. It should be clear that officers on the scene would have some limitations of the crowd numbers based on their discretion. Hawes asked if the event could be closed down if things became out of hand. Heitmann said appropriate wording could be added to the agreement but it should be within reason and discretion. Hawes said that Brann has been responsible in running the Club thus far and she assumes he would work with the City if the event became out of hand and needed to be shut down. Responding to Hawes, Brann said he would absolutely be willing to work with the City and the agreement with the recommendations as outlined by the City Solicitor. Gastia agreed with Heitmann’s recommendations. Gastia said he is reasonably sure that he will have enough officers to staff the event. Gastia asked when the alcohol would be served. Brann said he is willing to work with the City on the hours. He suggested noon to 3 pm. Gastia said staff is increased when alcohol is being served. Heitmann said it was an excellent suggestion. Brann said the band plays at the Whig and the SeaDog. It is not a heavy metal band. A motion was made and seconded to recommend approval as outlined by the City Solicitor. D’Errico asked Hodges if she felt more comfortable after listening to the latter part of the discussion. Hodges agreed. Hawes stated that the license agreement will come back to the Committee for final review in two weeks. 2. Annual Homeless Continuum of Care Grant Application As an overview, Yardley said this is a collaborative effort with many partners to submit a grant to the HUD. Shelter Plus Care is part of this application. Most of the application will be for renewals. The new projects include additional tenant base at Shelter Plus Care administered by the Community Health and Counseling Center for the Department of Health and Human Services. The other project would be six units of permanent housing by the Charlotte White Center in Lincoln. Yardley is supportive of having other parts of the Penobscot County engaged. The third proposal from Penobscot Community Healthcare was removed from the board today due to some strategic issues. By the third week in May, Yardley will know the specific projects to be included in the application. A motion was made and seconded to support Yardley’s recommendation. 3. Professional Services Contract - - Shelter Plus Care Grant Writer Yardley said with the passing of MaryAnne Chalila and TJ Martzial’s recent relocation to Portland, a lot of knowledge as been lost. Representing the greater Penobscot Continuum of Care, Yardley said the City puts up $10,000 annually into a pool to hire the grant coordinator, Sally Healy. Many other agencies are involved and contribute. The pool of money is administered by the City. Kerry Sack is available and willing to come back on a grant contract basis to assist with the renewal portion of the 2007 Shelter Plus Care renewal. Yardley explained that Martzial previously took care of the renewals. A motion was made and seconded to approve staff recommendation. After sending get-well wishes to Bob Farrar, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn.