After a one-year hiatus, the KSJD Community Radio Project Block Party will be returning with one minor tweak.
The party will end later on Saturday, Aug. 25.
The Cortez City Council grudgingly gave its approval Tuesday night for the music to end at 11 p.m. by a 6-1 vote with council member Tom Butler voting against it.
Cortez Special Events Manager Ami Fair informed the council that this event in the past has had some concerns, including lack of control, supervisors and security.
Fair said the equipment for the event performance stand had not been taken down in a timely fashion for the fundraiser that will begin this year at 6 p.m. on Market Street from Main Street north to the first alley.
City Manager Shane Hale said he had spoken to KSJD Executive Director Jeff Pope about the concerns and thinks the radio station has a firm grasp on the past issues.
Hale said the burden is on the city to ensure everything in the fundraising event goes off as planned.
In 2010, the event ended at 11 p.m. with the music stopping at 10 p.m. This year, the event will close at midnight with the music ending by 11 p.m.
The time in the citys noise ordinance is 10 p.m. although Pope said the fundraiser has received a variance on this time.
Hale said it is a good event, though any lack of compliance would be a concern. He added the on-site security would be a big help.
Pope said the radio station and other organizers were well aware of the conversation he was going to have with the council on Tuesday.
He said KSJD has been working with Riverfest for six years with no issues and expects the event to draw between 300 to 400 people.
Pope said the organizers will meet early and often with city staff in order to know all of the requirements they need to follow.
He also said the organizers are prepared to take down all of the fencing at the end of the event at their own cost, and added two security guards will also be hired at their own cost. The hope, he said, is to turn the fundraiser into a free community event that everyone can come out and enjoy.
Pope told the council there will only be one entrance, and it will either be manned by a paid staff member or a board member, neither whom will be consuming alcohol that night.
Prior to the fencing being taken down, the alcohol sales will have stopped, and all alcoholic beverages already sold will have to be poured out.
Council member Karen Sheek was concerned with the music ending at 11 p.m. and wanted to know the number of complaints from previous years.
Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane said there have been complaints in the past, and if the music is still being played past 10 p.m. the people to the north will be complaining.
The (event) is a good program and a good idea, but I question the 11 p.m. time, Lane said.
Butler was also concerned about the time the music would stop.
I think this is a good thing for Cortez, but at the same time, we have to care about our residents, Butler said. If they complain at 10 p.m., they will complain at 11 p.m.
Sheek proposed a compromise with the music stopping by 10:30 p.m., though council member Ty Keel favored 11 p.m., saying 30 minutes would not make much of a difference.
Its not going to run perfectly, he said. Lets try it, and if we fall on our face we can (change it next year).
Mayor Dan Porter said the community needs to know that on this one night there would be music being performed in this area until 11 p.m.
Hale said the free event is a good idea and is more inclusive for the community and proposed KSJD to do the publicizing to get the message out about the event and when the music ends.
Reach Michael Maresh at michaelm@cortezjournal.com
