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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Event Committee Minutes_5-18-21_ SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES May 18, 2021, 10:00 AM 731 S. Lafayette Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601 Members present: Brad Rohrscheib, Toy Villa, Jonathan Jones, Gerard Ellis, Darwin Shipley 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 10:30 AM by President Rohrscheib. 2. Approval of minutes Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Villa the minutes from the previous meeting held on May 4th, 2021 were approved unanimously. 3. Approval of Special Event Permits a. St Joseph Grade Field Day – 6/2/21 Event has been held for years with no issues. St Louis will be shut down between Colfax and LaSalle during school hours. Committee had no issues or additional questions regarding this yearly event. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Shipley the permit was approved unanimously. b. Jennings Family Gathering – 6/19/21 The event is a block party on the corner of Arnold and Grace. Arnold is a dead-end street and the alley runs behind the house. Cones will be dropped off prior to the event. Cleanup will be completed by 11:00 pm. This event has been held in previous years and no issues have been noted. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Villa the permit was approved unanimously. c. 3rd Annual Suicide Awareness Ruck March “22” – 6/26/21 The March consists of a moving group of military personnel wearing Ruck Sacks marching thru the City to raise awareness to suicide. One patrol car and two motorcycle officers Page | 2 from City PD move along with the participants to briefly close intersections as needed to allow the group to safely cross. The route is almost identical to last March held in 2019 and is flexible if construction mandates a change. The committee discussed waiving the permit fee as this is a government entity with minimal access to financial support trying to raise funds for suicide awareness. The application fee has been waived in the past. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib to approve and waive the application fee and seconded by Shipley the permit was approved unanimously. d. Laske Block Party – 7/24/21 Neighborhood Block Party to be held between 8 am to 8 pm. Closure requested on Clover Street between Ruskin and Hildreth. The application included all relevant neighbor signatures and a flyer for the event. This is a low traffic street according to Rohrscheib. Cones and Block Party signs will be dropped off prior to the event. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Jones the permit was approved unanimously. e. Reese Celebration of Life – 8/6/21 Celebration of life for deceased sister. Due to precautions for Covid earlier in the year, the family and friends of the deceased are holding the celebration outside. They have requested Freemont Street to be closed from Linden to Kenwood on 8/6/21 for setup and 12:30 pm to 7:30 pm on 8/7/21 for the event. Invitation Flyers were distributed to the neighbors in lieu of a neighborhood signature list. The committee discussed making it clear to the organizer that the closure would only be permitted on the date of the event. In addition to the details of this event, the committee discussed adding a line(s) to future event applications that specifically states public right-of-way closure times requested. This would reflect time needed to safely setup prior to an event and clean-up post event. Each committee member made suggestions for a future additional informational line. It was decided in the short term to state the closure times agreed upon by the Special Events Committee in the comments section on the Application for Use of Public Right-of- Way for Event Form (submitted to the Board of Public Works). The Committee agreed to provide cones on 8/7/21 and directed the Committee Secretary to reach out to the organizer to specify the closure request would only be granted for 8/7/21. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Shipley the permit was approved unanimously. f. Sunburst 2021 – 9/25/21 Beacon Health System not-for-profit event to promote community health and fitness, provide a safe and fun activity for area residents and to promote tourism in the South Bend area. Courtney Kipker (Event Organizer) joined the meeting virtually to discuss the event. The Sunburst Race 2021 was pushed back to September this year. The plan is for Page | 3 the Race to start at Four Winds Field and conclude at the 50 yard line of Notre Dame Stadium. Included in this year’s Sunburst will be a Half Marathon at 7:00 am, a 10K Run at 7:45 am, a 5K Run at 8:30 am, and a 5K walk at 9:15 am. Setup by Staff to begin setup for the races on 9/25/21 midnight and will be at Four Winds Field by 2:30 am to load trucks for on course deliveries and to set up the start line structure. Sunburst 2021 will utilize the same route as in previous years. The possibility of closure of the block surround Four Winds Field on Friday evening between 5:00-6:00 pm (depending on the Cubs schedule) was discussed. It was agreed that the closure would begin on Western and continue two blocks to South St for the Start Line of the event. Closures along the routes will be intermittent depending on start times of the races. Start times have allowed for 30 minute windows to make sure all runners get a start time at 5 minute intervals. Volunteers on bicycles will follow the last runners to signal when street closures can be opened. The Special Events Committee will be approving the route and several small meetings will follow leading up to the event. A contingency plan is in place for the start and finish of the race to be at Four Winds Field should the Notre Dame field be unavailable at the last minute. Ms Kipker was advised to contact Andy Meijer for questions on EMS services. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Villa the permit was approved unanimously. 4. Other Business – a. Leonard Block Party – 5/30/21 Gathering to celebrate a graduation to be held on Brookfield between Humbolt and Elwood Street. The application for the event was submitted late and not included on the originally published agenda and therefore discussed as other business. Rentals had already been secured for the event so a different date for the event wasn’t possible. Event setup time was proposed as 10:00 am and clean-up scheduled to be complete by 10:00 pm on 5/30/21. The requested closure for the event will be for Brookfield between Humbolt and Elwood St. The event will include a Bounce House and guests are asked to bring a dish to pass. No concerns by the Committee were voiced over the event. Upon a motion by Rohrscheib and seconded by Shipley the permit was approved unanimously. b. Jonathan Jones discussed the scope of the Special Events Committee and accountability for event planning, security and organization should something go awry. Going forward, should the Special Events Committee have certain standards that have to be met? Verbiage should potentially be in place to stipulate the parameters on closures and minimum security provided thru the event organizers to protect event attendees. Rohrscheib suggested adding parameters on length of closures on the website concerning closures for Neighborhood Events to minimize disruption of the surrounding area. The committee agreed that the online event descriptions should be reviewed and updated to reflect what the City can (cannot) provide for event planning purposes. Services including fence, stages, recycling or trash bins, bleachers, and additional security are not typically provided by the City but have been requested by organizers more frequently. Page | 4 5. Privilege of the Floor – None 6. Adjournment With no additional business, Rohrscheib motioned for adjournment and Villa seconded. The meeting ended at 11:07 AM.