02-05-2018 CCM - Laserfiche WebLink

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