‘Special events’ defined

Creston City Council continued to make changes to their draft for a special events application Wednesday night.

Residents speaking at the council’s public forum had questions regarding the application and who it applies to.

“What constitutes a special event?” Creston Parks and Recreation Board President John Kawa asked. “We have a lot of special events at the park, from the Fourth to runs like this, car shows and flea markets, farmers markets, at Rainbow and at the park. Those to me are special events and other things out there.”

Executive Director of Creston Chamber of Commerce Ellen Gerharz was concerned with who had authority for certain events, specifically those hosted at a park.

“Would someone like the 10,000 Crestonians who has events in the uptown area and at the park have two separate forms that we would have to fill out?” Gerharz asked. “It says nothing about parks and rec in here whatsoever, except that the parks and rec director has to sign off.”

Mayor Gabe Carroll shared a definition he had found for special event.

“This term does not include casual parties by a person that is not reasonably likely to attract a crowd,” Carroll read. “A special event typically requires special consideration for sanitation, crowd control, street closures or other limits to access in public areas, police presence, noise permits or a special authorization.”

The council agreed this definition fit with their ideas of a special event and added it to the application draft.

In the sanitation section, the word “temporary” was added regarding which trash containers event organizers are responsible for.

The council then discussed the role of the park and recreation board in the event application.

“All we’re really asking is that we know what’s going on out there,” Kawa said. “People need to come to our meetings, that’s all we really ask. We say if that’s cool or if it’s not cool. That’s what we’ve done for the 20-some years that I’ve been here.”

Councilmember Matt Levine assured Kawa that nothing regarding the process was changing, that the council was simply clarifying for applicants.

Carroll reiterated the application process once the special event application is turned in.

“They turn it in to us, we move it on to the park and rec board, they make the approval,” Carroll said. “They sign off on it, they return it to us and it’s good to go.”

Despite Kawa stating that applicants must come to park meetings, Levine explained applicants do not have to go to both the city council meeting and the parks and rec board meeting.

Changes will continue to be made at the next city council meeting, with a possible approval.

In other council news...

The council voted to establish the second reading regarding the amendment of provisions pertaining to solar energy systems. Councilmember Steve Wintermute immediately made a motion to waive the third reading of the amendment, seconded by Levine. The motion was passed unanimously.

The council agreed to participate in the planning and development programs of the Southern Iowa Council of Governments (SICOG) after discussion of the pricing changes.

City Administrator Mike Taylor explained that the total cost of SICOG services went up by a couple thousand dollars.

“The cost per capita last year was $1.135, which was around $8,500,” Taylor said. “The increase makes the per capita up to $1.85, so that’s almost $14,000 total the city would have to pay for those services.”

Taylor explained the increase in cost is due to a variety of things, including cyber security and legal fees. However, despite not budgeting for the increase, Taylor said the city would be able to absorb the cost.

The council approved the addition of the position of director of housing development to the city, along with the agreement for joint funding of the director of housing development position.