HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Event Committee Minutes_5-4-21
SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
May 4, 2021, 10:00 AM
731 S. Lafayette Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601
Members present: Brad Rohrscheib, Toy Villa, Jonathan Jones, Gerard Ellis (virtual), Darwin
Shipley
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 10:19 AM by President Rohrscheib.
2. Approval of minutes
Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Jones the minutes from the previous meeting
held on May 4th were approved unanimously.
3. Approval of Special Event Permits
a. Black Lives Matter Car Show – 6/19/21 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm
BLM along with Legendary Era sponsored event in Howard Park and surrounding area
featuring a car show, live entertainment, basketball tournament and various vendors.
The event organizers joined the meeting virtually to discuss the event. A 3 on 3
basketball tournament is proposed to be held along Jefferson adjacent to Howard Park
and a car show on St Louis between Jefferson and Wayne. Live entertainment will be set
up in Howard Park along with a Kids Corner. A clean-up crew along with private security
have been hired for the event. Barricades would only be in the area of the 3 on 3
tournament on Jefferson and the car show on St Louis. The closure on Jefferson on the
West end in relationship to Niles was determined to be on the East side of the Niles &
Jefferson intersection and therefore the bridge will remain open. Traffic will be
permitted to use half of the Jefferson & St Louis intersection. Speed bumps located
where the basketball tournament is being held are scheduled to be removed the first
week of June. Villa will check on the timing of the removal for the event organizers. The
set-up time for the basketball tournament was discussed and it was decided that due to
the number of teams expected that the time would be adjusted to 10:00 am so that the
players could begin at 2:00 pm instead of 4:00 pm. The Special Events Committee
suggested that the event organizer(s) provide information on the event in the form of a
door flyer to affected establishments at least 2 weeks prior to the event. This would
include all businesses in the area that would potentially be affected in addition to those
affected by direct closures. Legendary Era will be providing the basketball equipment
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and have determined that the street pavement will be sufficient for the tournament and
no leveling material will be needed. Organizers were asked about the material to be used
for line markings and they were confident that tape would be used rather than paint. The
closure in relationship to the car show on St Louis was defined as being the North side of
the intersection of St Louis and Wayne St. It was agreed that all street closures would be
opened by 10:30 pm on 6/19/21 by Traffic & Lighting. Event organizers were advised
that a lot proposed to be used for the car show belongs to the Zion Church and would
require permission from them to use the space as the City can’t grant this permission.
Delivery and removal times of bleachers will need to be coordinated between Traffic &
Lighting and VPA to accommodate the agreed upon end time of the event. Event security
is to be provided by Alpha Security based in Elkhart, IN. The intention of the event
organizers is to obtain liability insurance thru the City. Rohrscheib reminded them that
any liability insurance will need to cover the entire event, not just the Park portion of the
event and be submitted two weeks prior to the event. The Special Events Committee is
solely addressing the Public Right-of-Way prospective of this event. Rohrscheib wanted
to clarify that the event organizers would still need approval thru VPA to proceed with
the event.
Upon a motion (contingent on access to the Zion parking lot) by Rohrscheib and seconded by
Shipley the permit was approved unanimously.
b. Stars and Stripes Forever Ride – 6/19/21 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
American Legion Riders 357 Annual Fundraiser that allows Legion Riders to provide
assistance to veteran related services. Rohrscheib spoke with Joe Eshman concerning
new guidelines agreed upon by St Joe County Police, Mishawaka Police and South Bend
Police that apply to motorcycle rides going forward. Mr Eshman understands and will be
working on a pre-registration of riders to qualify for a police escort for the ride. The ride
will stay in the County as in years past and there are no concerns over the route. The ride
will take place on June 19th starting at 11:00 am. Rohrscheib will determine if registered
rider numbers support a Police escort as the event gets closer. The ride begins at the
Ireland Rd Walmart and almost immediately leaves the City limits for the County. No
setup is required from Traffic & Lighting for the ride. Mr Eshman is aware that if less than
100 participants have pre-registered, the ride will be held as a “Poker Run”. Villa brought
up upcoming construction on Sample and Mayflower as a potential obstacle along the
route. The construction project will begin in July and will not present any problems for
the event.
Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Villa the permit was approved unanimously.
c. LIVESTRONG at the YMCA 5K and 1 Mile Family Fun Run -8/7/21 8:00 am to 11:00 am
Event to benefit the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA program will be using the former Girls
on the Run route which laps Potawatomi Park, past the Zoo on Wall St and into the
adjacent neighborhood. The event will be fairly simple to block off and the route will only
necessitate a brief crossing at Twyckenham. Typically, the race has a shot-gun start but
may be adjusted due to Covid recommendations. Rohrscheib will contact the organizer of
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the event to insure that residents along Wall St have been notified prior to the race to
avoid issues with access to homes along the route. Unlike construction projects, special
events aren’t required to notify residents along the event routes. Rohrscheib commented
that most of the larger organizations do notify affected residents that the event will be
passing thru the neighborhood. Traffic & Lighting will drop off cones to block streets if
needed to supplement available officers and volunteers along the route. Wall St will be
closed at the alley.
Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Shipley the permit was approved
unanimously.
Other Business
a. Jonathan Jones discussed moving the location of one of the barriers on Park Lane related
to Kids to Parks Day. If the barrier was extended all the way to St Joseph (MLK), how
would it affect traffic flow? He proposed extending the initial closure on Park Lane a block
East of Michigan. The change would also include a hard close at the parking lot and a soft
close at Bartlett off of Main St. It was determined that by changing the closure and some
vendor locations a safer environment for event attendees would be created.
b. Clarification on City signatures needed on County Special Events Signature Form
for County event. Villa will check with Engineering to obtain official guidance.
1. Privilege of the Floor – None
2. Adjournment
With no additional business, Rohrscheib motioned for adjournment and Villa
seconded. The meeting ended at 11:27 AM.