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City Council Minutes Page 10 <br /> February 5,2018 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> Mr. Benoit indicated costs haven't been worked out yet. <br /> Councilmember Ovall stated it seems like a lot of events are being proposed for a <br /> small section of street area that would be utilized. <br /> Councilmember Wagner stated she doesn't think Highway 10 needs to be affected <br /> and the city could consider a smaller street closure. She stated if the term"river"is <br /> included in the event's name;why not incorporate use of the lower parking lot. She <br /> suggested leave the parking plaza for parking. She stated she was adamantly against <br /> starting the event in summer 2018 because she struggles with having to plan it in a <br /> short timeframe and not having as good event to draw people in future years. She <br /> expressed concerns with the Independence Day timeframe as it is one of busiest <br /> weekend of the year and most people leave town. She stated she likes the idea of <br /> smaller events. She stated she is not sure how she feels about the city hosting a beer <br /> garden versus a business. She questioned if this would be a volunteer or Chamber- <br /> prepared function. She suggested the Rivers Edge Downtown Association handle the <br /> event. She stated she struggles with the resources to handle the event. <br /> Representatives from Aegir Brewing stated they would love to participate and <br /> sponsor a beer garden and are more than willing to help out. <br /> Debbie Rydberg, Elk River Area Chamber of Commerce, stated she agrees with <br /> Councilmember Wagner's comments about planning an event for this year based on <br /> her event planning experience. She stated it is better to take the time and plan a good <br /> quality event. She stated there is a lot of marketing and moving pieces and expressed <br /> concerns about staff time due to their current workloads. She suggested waiting a <br /> year. She stated with the Plan B layout in the presentation she has concerns about <br /> blocking the back parking lot area behind the businesses; noting they won't be happy <br /> and their regular patrons won't have access. She suggested not closing Main Street <br /> but utilizing King Avenue, the lower parking lot,and the park. She stated five <br /> months is not enough time to work with the business community. <br /> Councilmember Wagner noted the downtown businesses will not be happy if their <br /> businesses are not filled during the event. She further stated this is also not the city's <br /> problem. She stated she doesn't support this event for 2018. She stated she supports <br /> a reach out to businesses to see if they will partner together and do something similar <br /> to this proposed event. She stated it has been a desire of the Rivers Edge Association <br /> to close the street and do an event. <br /> Councilmember Olsen stated he likes the idea of closing King Avenue, the lower lot <br /> and the park noting events could be consolidated to fit the space. He suggested <br /> starting simple the first year to see how it goes and keep costs to a minimum. He <br /> further stated the August dates might work better to get more attendance. <br /> Mayor Dietz expressed concerns with moving the fireworks because they are a big <br /> draw. He suggested possibly taking a quick survey of downtown businesses. He <br /> believes a city event is more likely to happen if it is city driven citing the difficulty in <br /> P 0 W I R I U 9 Y <br /> itm§A UREJ <br />