Post by kaya on Jul 14, 2007 14:44:13 GMT -5
County giving green light to reggae concert
James Faulk/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 07/14/2007 04:25:07 AM PDT
EUREKA -- After months of speculation about whether county officials would yank the permit for the annual Southern Humboldt reggae event, an official this week said organizers of Reggae Rising have made enough progress toward meeting the required conditions.
People Productions, which is putting on Reggae Rising, and the event site's landowner, Tom Dimmick, have been battling with the Mateel Community Center for several months over the rights to hold a festival near Piercy.
A long list of conditions, and a limited window of time, made county planning commissioners wary of a potential disaster if tickets were sold only to have the event canceled at the last minute.
At its June meeting on the subject, the commission gave Community Development Director Kirk Girard the authority to schedule a revocation hearing before the Board of Supervisors if such a scenario seemed likely.
But county planner Michael Richardson said this week that the organizers of Reggae Rising had met enough of the conditions that such problems seem unlikely. The one condition yet to be met appears to be on the brink of being resolved, he said.
The last piece of the puzzle was a consolidated operations plan for sewage disposal, and that has since been submitted. All that remains is a sign-off letter from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, and officials there have indicated to county staff that one way or the other the sewage issue will be resolved --
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either by treating and disposing of the water on site or by storing the waste water and disposing of it later, at an approved location.
So no issues have arisen to raise the specter of a revocation hearing.
”The county is not getting in the way of the event,” Richardson said.
A court hearing earlier this week on the issue of permit ownership ended with a continuance until October.
The Mateel is suing Dimmick for allegedly breaching an agreement that allows the Mateel to hold the event on his land. But Dimmick has said the Mateel itself violated the lease when it separated from long-time Reggae producer People Productions.
Both sides claim to own the county-issued permit -- Dimmick as the landowner and the Mateel as the named applicant on the permit. But the county has refused to weigh in on the issue.
Recently, the Mateel said it would not be holding an event this year.
Mateel attorney Bill Bragg said that while the Mateel believes the Reggae Rising event is improper and essentially illegal, the non-profit organization will not be taking formal action to try to prevent Reggae Rising from happening this year.
”The Mateel will not be using its limited resources to attempt to challenge the present circumstances,” said Bragg.
But the Mateel will be seeking damages in the ongoing court battle, Bragg said, including compensation for the use of some $300,000 in infrastructure at the concert site that the Mateel says it owns.
”There are avenues that the Mateel could pursue but the Mateel has limited resources to fight those collateral battles,” Bragg said. “We put Dimmick on notice that he does not have the authority or permission to use the infrastructure or equipment.”
When contacted Friday, Carol Bruno of People Productions was upbeat about the progress made so far in getting Reggae Rising event off the ground.
”We've been working out the details that need to be worked out with all the agencies, and everything's fine.” she said. “We're moving forward and doing the good job that we always do.”
Some have questioned whether ticket sales have been sufficient to make the event pencil out this year, but Bruno said that is definitely not a problem.
So far, the event is more than half way toward selling out, which is impressive given that tickets didn't go on sale until much later than usual, she said.
She predicted another sold-out concert, adding that at the worst some tickets will be available at the gate. That's a phenomenon that's common among a number of festivals this year, she said.
Even the loss of 2,000 attendees -- the amount knocked off maximum attendance levels by the Humboldt County Planning Commission during the permit review process -- will not break the bank, she said.
”We've adjusted our budget and we're working within the numbers that the planning commission gave us, and we're confident that it will be fine,” Bruno said.
The event will continue to be a boon for the entire economy of Southern Humboldt County, she said.
Tickets are currently on sale at the usual outlets in Eureka and Arcata, as well as through the Web site, www.reggaerising.com.
James Faulk/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 07/14/2007 04:25:07 AM PDT
EUREKA -- After months of speculation about whether county officials would yank the permit for the annual Southern Humboldt reggae event, an official this week said organizers of Reggae Rising have made enough progress toward meeting the required conditions.
People Productions, which is putting on Reggae Rising, and the event site's landowner, Tom Dimmick, have been battling with the Mateel Community Center for several months over the rights to hold a festival near Piercy.
A long list of conditions, and a limited window of time, made county planning commissioners wary of a potential disaster if tickets were sold only to have the event canceled at the last minute.
At its June meeting on the subject, the commission gave Community Development Director Kirk Girard the authority to schedule a revocation hearing before the Board of Supervisors if such a scenario seemed likely.
But county planner Michael Richardson said this week that the organizers of Reggae Rising had met enough of the conditions that such problems seem unlikely. The one condition yet to be met appears to be on the brink of being resolved, he said.
The last piece of the puzzle was a consolidated operations plan for sewage disposal, and that has since been submitted. All that remains is a sign-off letter from the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, and officials there have indicated to county staff that one way or the other the sewage issue will be resolved --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Advertisement
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
either by treating and disposing of the water on site or by storing the waste water and disposing of it later, at an approved location.
So no issues have arisen to raise the specter of a revocation hearing.
”The county is not getting in the way of the event,” Richardson said.
A court hearing earlier this week on the issue of permit ownership ended with a continuance until October.
The Mateel is suing Dimmick for allegedly breaching an agreement that allows the Mateel to hold the event on his land. But Dimmick has said the Mateel itself violated the lease when it separated from long-time Reggae producer People Productions.
Both sides claim to own the county-issued permit -- Dimmick as the landowner and the Mateel as the named applicant on the permit. But the county has refused to weigh in on the issue.
Recently, the Mateel said it would not be holding an event this year.
Mateel attorney Bill Bragg said that while the Mateel believes the Reggae Rising event is improper and essentially illegal, the non-profit organization will not be taking formal action to try to prevent Reggae Rising from happening this year.
”The Mateel will not be using its limited resources to attempt to challenge the present circumstances,” said Bragg.
But the Mateel will be seeking damages in the ongoing court battle, Bragg said, including compensation for the use of some $300,000 in infrastructure at the concert site that the Mateel says it owns.
”There are avenues that the Mateel could pursue but the Mateel has limited resources to fight those collateral battles,” Bragg said. “We put Dimmick on notice that he does not have the authority or permission to use the infrastructure or equipment.”
When contacted Friday, Carol Bruno of People Productions was upbeat about the progress made so far in getting Reggae Rising event off the ground.
”We've been working out the details that need to be worked out with all the agencies, and everything's fine.” she said. “We're moving forward and doing the good job that we always do.”
Some have questioned whether ticket sales have been sufficient to make the event pencil out this year, but Bruno said that is definitely not a problem.
So far, the event is more than half way toward selling out, which is impressive given that tickets didn't go on sale until much later than usual, she said.
She predicted another sold-out concert, adding that at the worst some tickets will be available at the gate. That's a phenomenon that's common among a number of festivals this year, she said.
Even the loss of 2,000 attendees -- the amount knocked off maximum attendance levels by the Humboldt County Planning Commission during the permit review process -- will not break the bank, she said.
”We've adjusted our budget and we're working within the numbers that the planning commission gave us, and we're confident that it will be fine,” Bruno said.
The event will continue to be a boon for the entire economy of Southern Humboldt County, she said.
Tickets are currently on sale at the usual outlets in Eureka and Arcata, as well as through the Web site, www.reggaerising.com.