Irish Fest John Finn request
MEMORANDUM
October 2, 2003
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Busted Lift Irish Fest Request
On August 1,2003, the city received a request from John Finn, owner of the Busted Lift,
to conduct a two-day Irish Fest on Main Street. The request included closing Main
th th nd
Street on October l0 and11 from the Locust Street connector to 2 Street. The
event would run from noon until midnight on Fdday, October 10th and 10:00 a.m. until
midnight on Saturday, October 11th and consist of food and beverage vendors
(including alcohol), live music and entertainment. On September 2, 2003, the city
received a petition with twenty-five signatures from adjacent property owners and
tenants objecting to the street closure. These signatures represent more than a majority
of property owners in objection to the event. In the past, similar requests from
organizations have included permission from a minimum of 75% of the impacted
property owners.
On September 11, 2003, Mr. Finn was sent a letter informing him of the City's denial of
his request to close Main Street.
The contents of the letter denying Mr. Finn's request generally included the following:
The City received a petition with signatures from seventeen owners and eight
tenants objecting to the closure of Main Street for two days.
The site plan does not provide for Fire, Police or Ambulance access to buildings
and residential properties for enforcement or protection.
The event subjects residents in the area to two-days of music and alcohol in their
neighborhood.
The site plan does not identify a traffic plan with types of barricades to be used
and where they are located. Site plan also includes closing a street at mid-block
and not the intersection. The intersection closing would be recommended and
would require additional signatures from adjacent property owners.
The site plan does not include other information requested such as location of
tables, chairs, porta potties, start and stop times for each day and no clean-up
plan has been provided.
The site plan identifies the electrical source coming from the City of Dubuque.
No power source for such an event is available from the city in the area and
would require pulling power from an adjacent building.
The site plan shows the installation of two tents, one on Main Street and one on
First Street. This would require hammering metal tent pins into the existing
concrete and asphalt and repairing the street afterward. At previous events held
by you the tents have remained for up to two days following an event, despite
numerous requests from city staff to have them removed.
Payment in the amount of $1,200 is still owed to the Leisure Services
Department for Irish Fest 2002 that was held in Murphy Park.
On September 17, 2003, I met with Mr. Finn and his attorney Fran Henkels to discuss
the special event. Mr. Finn expressed a desire to move the event from Main Street to
the west of his building, to the 1st Street extension to the east of his building. I advised
him that all the previous concerns we had about the event on Main Street would still
exist, but added to this would be trying to fit a very large event into a much smaller
space, increasing the risk to public safety. I did advise him that we could discuss the
issue further if the neighbors were supportive of the event at the new location. It was
also suggested that Mr. Finn consider the former location for the event, Murphy Park.
Mr. Finn did resubmit information where three of the property owners were more
accepting of the event in the new location, and the tenants of Bishop Block Building had
no objection. That still left a significant amount of the property owners in the area who
were against the event. I advised his attorney Mr. Henkels that I would not approve the
event permit on the 1st Street extension.
Mr. Finn discussed with Leisure Services Manager Gil Spence moving the event to
Murphy Park. A special meeting of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission was
held on September 23. Mr. Finn and his attorney Mr. Henkels did not attend the
meeting and the Park Commission denied the request.
In a subsequent phone conversation with Mr. Henkels, it was my understanding their
intent was to examine having the event at the Hawthorne Street Peninsula. I spoke with
Leisure Services Manager Gil Spence, Water Department Manager Bob Green and
Operations and Maintenance Department Manager Don Vogt and found that there were
no objections to his use of this location. It appears that Mr. Finn did not follow-up on
this possibility.
The City has a history of problems related to Mr. Finn's events, including not following
through on requests by City staff regarding security and crowd control, removal of trash,
removal of tents, service of alcohol beyond event time, playing of music beyond event
time, adequate barricades and porta potties, and the number of calls for service at
events. Mr. Finn also has a history with the City of paying his bills with checks that
show insufficient funds and taking up to a year to pay his bills.
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM/jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
City Manager's Office
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-$864
(563) 589-$3.10 office
(563) 589-$149 fax
ctymgr@cityofdubaque.org
September 11,2003
Mr. John Finn
The Busted Lift
180 Main Street
Dubuque la 52001
DearJohn,
I am writing to inform you that your special event application for October 10 -11,
2003 on Main Street has been denied. The City received a petition with
signatures from 17 owners and 8 tenants objecting to the closure of Main Street
for two days. In the past similar requests from organizations have included
permission from a minimum of 75% of the impacted neighborhood. Your
application does not meet this requirement.
In addition, the following are concerns noted by city staff regarding the
application and site plan you submitted:
· The site plan does not provide for Fire, Police or Ambulance access to
buildings and residential properties for enforcement or protection.
· The event subjects residents in the area to two-days of music and alcohol
in their neighborhood.
· The site plan does not identify a traffic plan with types of barricades to be
used and where they are located. Site plan also includes closing a street
at mid-block and not the intersection. The intersection closing would be
recommended and would require additional signatures from adjacent
property owners.
· The site plan does not include other information requested such as
location of tables, chairs, porta potties, start and stop times for each day
and no clean-up plan has been provided.
· The site plan identifies the electrical source coming from the City of
Dubuque. No power source for such an event is available from the cityqn
the area and would require pulling power from an adjacent building.
· The site plan shows the installation of two tents, one on Main Street and
one on First Street. This would require hammering metal tent pins into the
existing concrete and asphalt and repairing the street afterward. At
Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamwork
previous events held by you the tents have remained for up to two days
following an event, despite numerous requests from city staff to have them
removed.
Payment in the amount of $1,200 is still owed to the Leisure Services
Department for Irish Fest 2002 that was held in Murphy Park.
This information is being provided to you as a guide for future requests for
special events.
Please feel free to contact me at 589-4116 if you have any questions.
Regards,
Cindy Steinhauser
Assistant City Manager
Cc:
Michael C. Van Mifligen, City Manager
Barry Lindahl, Corporation Counsel
MEM
ORANDUM
October 2, 2003
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Busted Lift Irish Fest request
Introduction
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you information on the recent denials to
hold Irish Fest on public right of way.
Discussion.
On August 1,2003, the city received a request from John Finn, owner of the Busted Lift,
to conduct a two-day Irish Fest on Main Street. The request included closing Main
Street on October 10th and 11th from the Locust Street connector to 2"d Street. The
event would run from noon until midnight on Friday, October 10th and 10:00 a.m. until
midnight on Saturday, October 11th and consist of food and beverage vendors
(including alcohol), live music and entertainment. On September 2, 2003, the city
received a petition with twenty-five signatures from adjacent property owners and
tenants objecting to the street closure. These signatures represent more than a majority
of property owners in objection to the event. In the past similar requests from
organizations have included permission from a minimum of 75% of the impacted
property owners.
On September 4, 2003 the special events application review committee met to review
Mr. Finn's application and the petition. The committee also discussed concerns about
problems with previous events held by Mr. Finn. Despite Mr. Finn's familiarity with the
special event application process, there were a number of concerns noted by city staff
regarding the lack of information submitted with the August 1, 2003 application. These
included insufficient site plan information on traffic barricades, location of tables, chairs,
porta potties as well as emergency access for police and fire. On-going concerns by
staff for any event hosted by Mr. Finn include lack of follow thru on the part of Mr. Finn
to live up to requests by city staff regarding security and crowd control, removal of trash,
removal of tents, service of alcohol beyond event time, playing of music beyond event
time, adequate barricades and porta potties, and calls for service at events. On
September 11,2003 Mr. Finn was sent a letter informing him of the city's denial of his
request to close Main Street.
On September 17, 2003 a meeting was held with Mr. Finn, his attorney Fran Henkels,
you and myself. Mr. Henkels requested the meeting to discuss the denied special event
application and to request the city consider a revised location behind the Busted Lift on
the 1st Street extension behind his building. Similar concerns were raised about the
revised location regarding noise, access, past experiences with the organizer and new
concerns about the smaller location. Based upon this meeting it was suggested that Mr.
Finn pursue holding ldsh Fest in the same location as last year, Murphy Park instead of
1st Street. Mr. Finn was also told that his revised special event application and beer
permit would need to be in order, reviewed by city staff by September 30 in order to be
placed on the October 6 City Council meeting. In response to this suggestion, Mr. Finn
met with Leisure Services Manager Gil Spence to discuss holding Irish Fest at Murphy
Park.
On September 18, 2003 Fran Henkels, John Finn and Bill Finn met with Gil Spence and
Park Division Manager John Hail to discuss the use of Murphy Park. At this meeting
city staff cited numerous concerns about the event returning to Murphy Park. In past
years problems surrounding Irish Fest in Murphy Park have included no final site plan
as agreed by Mr. Finn, lack of supervision of parking areas, damage to turf, music and
beer sales continuing past the approved time, lack of removal of trash, tents, dumpsters
and porta potties at the agreed upon day and unauthorized ddlling into a city building in
order to access electricity. In response to this, when Irish Fest 2002 was held, Mr. Finn
agreed to pay the city for out of pocket expenses we had to hire security, parking and
maintenance to insure a safe event. This resulted in a $1,201.06 expense to the city.
As of September 18, 2003 Mr. Finn had yetto pay this bill.
At the September 18, 2003 meeting Gil Spence agreed to schedule a special Park and
Recreation Advisory Commission meeting to review Mr. Finn's request. As part of this
agreement, Mr. Finn agreed to pay the past due 2002 bill by September 22, 2003 and to
give a deposit of $2,000 for this year's event. At 4:45 p.m. on September 22, 2003, Mr.
Finn paid the $1,201.06 bill by check. The check was deposited and was later returned
to the city for insufficient funds. The check has since been redeposited. A special
commission meeting was scheduled for September 23, 2003 and a fax indicating this
information was sent to Fran Henkels at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, September 19, 2003.
Neither Mr. Finn nor Mr. Henkels attended the September 23 meeting and the request
was denied.
On September 29, 2003, Mr. Finn submitted a revised request to once again hold Irish
Fest on the 1st Street extension. While Mr. Finn's revised request includes additional
support from tenants in the Bishop Block building to hold the event in this location, Mr.
Finn does not have the support of 75% of the property owners in the area. Indeed,
there remains significant opposition from immediate and adjacent property owners. In
addition, given the lateness in receipt of the application, city staff has not had sufficient
time to review and comment on the site plan. Many of the original concerns remain in
terms of traffic barricades, parking, security and noise. Additionally, city staff is greatly
concerned about the size of the event being located in a smaller location than in
previous years. Based upon these concerns, this request was again denied. In
response, at 4:45 p.m. on September 30, 2003 Mr. Finn submitted another application
to hold Irish Fest in Murphy Park. Again, given the lateness in receipt of the application,
city staff has not had sufficient time to review and comment on the incomplete site plan.
Many of the odginal concerns remain in terms of traffic barricades, parking, security,
emergency access, clean-up plan and noise.
Lastly, I would like to comment on Mr. Finn's check payments to the city. I mentioned
above that Mr. Finn's check was returned for insufficient funds. This is not the first time
Mr. Finn has made a check payment to the city and the check has been returned for
insufficient funds. Mr. Finn also has a lease agreement with the city for use of the
public right of way behind his building for an outdoor patio. The city negotiated with Mr.
Finn in good faith to rent the right of way for $300/month from mid-June to October 31,
2003. On June 16, 2003, City Council approved a lease agreement with Mr. Finn for an
outdoor patio. The next day Mr. Finn took possession of the property and installed
fencing and furniture. However, Mr. Finn failed to submit a request for an extension of
his beer license into this area and so was not allowed to serve alcohol in this same
area. Mr. Finn was later approved for a beer license for this area on July 2, 2003 at a
special City Council meeting. Given the delay in receipt of the beer license for this area,
Mr. Finn did not believe he owed the city any rent for June and refused to pay the past
due amount of $300. After numerous telephone conversations, on September 4, 2003 a
letter was sent to Mr. Finn advising him that he was in violation of the lease agreement
and he was given notice to pay the past due amount within 5 days or the lease would be
terminated. Mr. Finn did pay the past due amount within the 5 day period by check.
The check was deposited and was returned to the city due to insufficient funds. The
check was later redeposited and did clear payment. Mr. Finn currently owes for
October rent, which was due on October 1,2003.
This information is being provided to give you an idea of the effort different city
departments have taken to work with John Finn to meet his request. The special event
application process recommends submitting the application up to 60 days in advance
for large events such as Irish Fest in order to give city staff sufficient time to address all
concerns regarding public safety. Despite Mr. Finn's familiarity with the special event
application process and city requirements, his new applications continue to lack the
necessary information and support of the neighborhood to warrant approval.
Cc: Special event application committee
RESOLUTION NO. 384-03
BEER
Whereas, applications for Beer Permits have been submitted and filed to this Council
for approval and the same have been examined and approved: and
Whereas, the premises to be occupied by such applicants were inspected and found to
comply with the Ordinances of the City and have filed proper bonds.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
DUBUQUE, IOWA:
That the Manager be authorized to cause to be issued the following named applicants a
Beer Permit.
CLASS "B" BEER (5 - DAY SPECIAL EVENT)
Davey Robertsons Public Bar
The Busted Lift-Irish Fest
Murphy Park
Terrance M. Duggan, Mayor
Attest:
Jeanne F.. Schneider, CMC City Clerk
Passed, approved and adopted this 6th day of October, 2003.
t
Bishops Block, HARP and Lawlor Garvey
MERCY HOUSING SYSTEM
Date: 9-22-03
To: John Finn
From: Steve Cook
RE: Irish Fest
Dear John,
I passed on the information you requested me to give to the tenants here at the Bishop
Block. I drafted the attached sheet for the tenants to sign to see if they would approve or
oppose the Irish Fest.
As you will see from the sheet that was signed, almost everyone has accepted your
proposal.
I hope your Irish Fest is a success.
Please call me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Steve Cook
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Bishops Block, HARP and Lawlor Garvey are managed by Mercy Services Corporation.
90 MAIN STREET • DUBUQUE, IOWA 52001 • 563.583.9653 • FAX 563.583.6490
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