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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-28-24 Special Events Committee Minutes SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES February 28, 2024, 1:00 PM 731 S. Lafayette Blvd, South Bend, IN 46601 Members present: Amy Roush, Brad Rohrscheib, Kyle Ludlow (Teams), Gerard Ellis, Darwin Shipley. 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 1:04 PM by Ms. Roush. 2. Approval of minutes Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Rohrscheib, the minutes from the previous meeting held on January 10, 2024 were approved unanimously. 3. Approval of Special Event Permits 3a. Living Station of the Cross-March 29 2024 Karen Corrizusa joined the meeting to represent Our Lady of Hungary’s application for the annual Living Station of the Cross. Ms Corrizusa described the event as an enactment of the 14 stations of the cross around the area surrounding the parish located in Rum Village. This year’s enactment will not include animals. Mr Rohrscheib confirmed that a handful of SBPD officers will be available to stop traffic for the people walking along the road from station to station. Mr Shipley mentioned that cones for the event will be dropped off at the intersection by the parish on Thursday prior to the event. As this is an annual event, the committee was familiar with it and had no questions or concerns. Page | 2 Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Rohrscheib, the permit for Living Station of the Cross was approved unanimously. 3b. Cinco de Mayo Festival-May 4 2024 Juan Ramos joined the meeting to represent St Adalbert Parish and answer questions regarding the event application for this year’s Cinco de Mayo Festival. St Adalbert has hosted the festival annually for 20+ years. The event currently takes place on the grounds surrounding the parish located on Grace Street between Meade Street and Olive Street. This year’s event is requesting an additional closure of Huron Street between Meade Street and Olive Street to accommodate handicap parking. Waiver signatures from potentially affected homes are included with the event application. Mr Ramos told the committee that the festival will feature music, food, and non-alcoholic beverages. Mr Shipley confirmed that cones to be used for temporary street closures will be dropped at the corner in front of the parish on Friday prior to the festival. The committee members had no further questions or concerns. Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Shipley, the permit for Cinco de Mayo Festival was approved unanimously. 3c. Walk for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Awareness-May 25 2024 Austin Burks joined the committee meeting virtually to describe the rare disease that inspired him to organize a fundraiser to contribute to research to find a cure. Mr Burks explained that the disease is an inherited connected tissue disorder that affects the body’s collagen, which results in arterial ruptures by sections. This disease has claimed several of Mr Burks’ close family members, including his 11 year old grandson. There is currently no treatment or cure for the disease. A similar annual walk takes place in Milwaukee however, the walk scheduled for May 25 2024 is the first of it’s kind to take place in South Bend. Participants will begin at Veterans Memorial Park and continue along the sidewalk on Northside Blvd. The walk will conclude at Howard Park. Participation is expected to include 50-100 people. Page | 3 The committee members voted unanimously to wave the $25 application fee, as the applicant is a City employee. Donations from the Walk will be added to an account dedicated to research at Mayo Clinic. The committee members had no further comments or concerns. Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Rohscheib, the permit for Walk for Vasuclar Ehlers-Danlos Awareness was approved unanimously. 3d. South Bend Westside Memorial Day Parade-May 27 2024 Katie Reaves and Sheila Niezgodski joined the committee to discuss the event application for the annual South Bend West Side Memorial Day Parade. Ms Reaves told the committee that this year’s parade will be the 98th annual event and will follow the same route used in 2023. Dance groups will not be included in this year’s parade and the number of horses, bicycles and motorcycles will be limited to eight each. Staging for the parade will take place in the K-Mart parking lot on Summit Street. Additional volunteers will be on hand in the staging area to help organize the various parade units. All veteran organizations are permitted to have an unlimited number of vehicles. Any other organization will be limited to four vehicles. Parking along with porta-potties will be available in the Navarre gravel lot. Additional parking will be available in Kroger’s parking lot along with the lot at Planet Fitness. Street closures will be required at entry points, along the parade route and at the exit point. SBPD, along with various City and private volunteers will be on hand to monitor street closures and to keep the participants in the parade moving forward from start to finish. Volunteers will be handing out letters to residents of the surrounding area with information pertaining to the parade and a request to remove vehicles from the parade route. The committee members had no further concerns at this time. Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Shipley, the permit for South Bend Westside Memorial Day Parade was approved unanimously. 3e. Sunburst Races-June 1 2024 Courtney Kipker and Travis Bladecki joined the meeting via Teams to discuss their application for Sunburst Races 2024. Ms Kipker began by telling the committee that this year’s race will be similar to last year’s in that the start line will be at Century Center and the race’s finish line will be located on the Jefferson Bridge. Ms Kipker also mentioned that registration for this year’s race is currently up 37% from last year. Page | 4 Kyle Ludlow was consulted over potential road closures or construction projects that would interfere with the race. Mr Ludlow identified a few areas of concern located in the Northern leg of the proposed course. Mr Ludlow also forwarded the proposed race route to the project manager in the Engineering Department to verify that no other areas of conflict exist. Mr Bladecki agreed to re-work the proposed route to relocate the large turn-around used by the race participants. It was agreed by the committee that the approved event application will not be submitted for BPW approval until a final route has been submitted to the committee and voted upon. The committee wanted it noted that Sunburst Races/Beacon Health System will be receiving invoices (separately) from SBPD, Traffic & Lighting, and SBFD for additional equipment and services beyond in kind from each department for necessary services for an event of this level. Otherwise, the committee was comfortable granting approval of the application. The applicants agreed to forward any updated information to the committee secretary. Upon a motion by Ms. Roush and seconded by Mr. Rohscheib, the permit for Sunburst Races was approved unanimously. 4. Other Business 5. Privilege of the Floor None 6. Adjournment With no additional business to discuss, Ms. Roush motioned for adjournment, and Mr. Rohrscheib seconded. The meeting concluded at 1:47 PM.