MONROE - Downtown Monroe businesses want to hear from the city when there are requests to hold special events.
The Monroe Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) board of directors voted Tuesday night to send a letter to the City of Monroe requesting notification of all special event permits applications.
According to board president Sherrill Kelly, the letter will ask that the city application form include a requirement that permit applicants notify BID.
The letter will be drafted and sent next week.
According to Kelly, the requirement will not give BID authority to prevent or approve events, but will allow its board to voice objections to permits before they are approved by the Monroe City Council.
BID objections may come most often when too much of the Square is closed for small events, Kelley said.
According to some business owners on the Square, street closings have adverse effects on business sales, parking and handicapped accessibility.
Kelly, owner of Uptown Girl; Barb Gelbach, owner of Das Baumhaus; and Cherie Hughes, owner of the Dilly Bean, all have expressed problems they see with street closings. All are members of BID's board of directors.
The Public Safety Committee members determined at a meeting May 5 that their authority to approve special events is limited to safety issues. They sent complaints about events hindering downtown business to the Business Improvement District board. A change in the special event permit application forms may require approval by the Public Safety Committee, said City Clerk Carol Stamm.
Kelly said she wasn't sure whether BID could make decisions on event approvals.
After discussion, the board did not set any criteria outlining how much closure was too much.
Kelly said each permit would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some permits will be "clear cut," Kelly said.
"Take Cheese Days, for example; there's no way we're going to stand in the way of that," she said.
Event permits that are not as easily identified, will be taken to the BID board if there is time, she said.
Public safety naturally comes first, she said, so BID may approve of an event while the Board of Public Safety may not.
The Monroe Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) board of directors voted Tuesday night to send a letter to the City of Monroe requesting notification of all special event permits applications.
According to board president Sherrill Kelly, the letter will ask that the city application form include a requirement that permit applicants notify BID.
The letter will be drafted and sent next week.
According to Kelly, the requirement will not give BID authority to prevent or approve events, but will allow its board to voice objections to permits before they are approved by the Monroe City Council.
BID objections may come most often when too much of the Square is closed for small events, Kelley said.
According to some business owners on the Square, street closings have adverse effects on business sales, parking and handicapped accessibility.
Kelly, owner of Uptown Girl; Barb Gelbach, owner of Das Baumhaus; and Cherie Hughes, owner of the Dilly Bean, all have expressed problems they see with street closings. All are members of BID's board of directors.
The Public Safety Committee members determined at a meeting May 5 that their authority to approve special events is limited to safety issues. They sent complaints about events hindering downtown business to the Business Improvement District board. A change in the special event permit application forms may require approval by the Public Safety Committee, said City Clerk Carol Stamm.
Kelly said she wasn't sure whether BID could make decisions on event approvals.
After discussion, the board did not set any criteria outlining how much closure was too much.
Kelly said each permit would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Some permits will be "clear cut," Kelly said.
"Take Cheese Days, for example; there's no way we're going to stand in the way of that," she said.
Event permits that are not as easily identified, will be taken to the BID board if there is time, she said.
Public safety naturally comes first, she said, so BID may approve of an event while the Board of Public Safety may not.