News : Council hears Citizen Input: Downtown Concert, Building Confusion & Online Video

Barricades and porta potties in front of Lotus Restaurant caused issues with this business and others during the downtown concert last month.

At the city council meeting last week, there was a mixed bag of citizen input during the meeting. Topics included:

Downtown Concert

Area businesses voiced complaints to the city council concerning the concert held in downtown Vinton. The June concert held on 4th Street, according to some of the businesses, it shut them down.

Spokespersons for Lotus restaurant spoke first. Jimmy and Sri Wheeler explained that the owner of the business was just about in tears because customers were unable to access the business. (see photo) Barricades had been placed in front of the restaurant preventing customers from parking in front of the business hindering access to the restaurant. The problem prevented the older customers who usually come in on Saturday night from coming in. Some could only get a parking space three blocks away.

Additionally, the porta-potties were set up on the sidewalk next to the restaurant which was distasteful to customers coming in for food.

Citing the idea that the concert was to bring people to Vinton to see the downtown, while closing the downtown. The suggestion was made to move it off of main street onto 5th St. or east of the courthouse. The business also did not appreciate being told what they WOULD do rather than asking how the event could work with the business.

At first access to the front door was prohibited. They were also told that they would be given 3 wristbands for the employees to use during the concert. The business employs 5 or 6.

They were told that no one was supposed to watch the band unless they had a wrist band. Logistically, with an business that's impossible. The case was made that if you own a business, you should be allowed to stand on the sidewalk in front of it. Later the barricade was adjusted so customers could get to the door.

Brickside-Brew-N-Chew owner Sue Hart spoke next. She said that last year she had no idea what was going on and hadn't received a letter, but said that because her business shares a building with two other businesses, it was possible that a letter had been received.

Last year she had purchased extra beverages to be sold to customers knowing the traffic would be heavy during the concert. She had planned to set it up in the entryway to her store, not on the sidewalk, only to be told that she would not be allowed to sell it because another group would be selling soda. She didn't know that ahead of time so was out the money for this.

She also spoke concerning the street being blocked off so that customers couldn't drive down 4th Street to her shop. Last year it shut down the business activity. This year she said even with the barricade pushed back to 5:00 p.m. she watched cars start to enter the block and then turn around.

Hart said, "It's bad for business. It's only one day a year, that one day could set us back months. If we don't have that income, we're not going to make rent, we're not going to make our payments." While she was not putting down the idea of a concert in town, she just questioned bringing it to the downtown.

Colleen Karrick also spoke on behalf of her business, The Niche. Last year she said that she received no notification of the event, nor again this year. A source online said that the businesses had been contacted early on, but they had not.

Each business stated that they were promised wristbands for these events so that they could get to their businesses, but never received them.

Karrick stated that she had a couple scheduled to pick up furniture from Cedar Rapids weren't able to get to the store because of the streets being barricaded. Other folks were unable to get to her business that day and she stated that she lost a large amount of income that day because of the concert. While the businesses were asked to hold special sales that day, no one was able to get to the stores.

Next up was Lindsey Thibadeau of Simply Blooming. She spoke concerning the lack of ability of customers to get to her shop due to barricades and garbage cans being in the way making it appear that they weren't open. She also said that the concert organizer had told her that it wasn't fair that the people could watch the concert from the upstairs of her building and that they should buy tickets. The shop owner said this was after she had moved her vehicles so that the concert organizers could use the spaces where her vehicles were parked and she had made room for them to set up. She also made the point that they were singled out while other apartment dwellers in the area were not approached.

Kevin Schlaurbaum, organizer of the event also addressed the council. He said that they had barricades in front of Lotus but because he knew they wanted to stay open, there were three parking spots in front of Windsor CBD open around the corner. He said that barricades were placed on the A Ave. intersection. He said that it the street was open until 5:00 p.m. that night. He stated that Dan LaGrange or LaGrange Pharmacy and Dean Luze of Viking Sewing Center were happy with the way things worked for their businesses.

He said that he probably dropped the ball on getting letters out to the businesses this year and said that Lotus wasn't in business the first year that it was held.

He asked the businesses present if their employees had to pay for tickets to get to work. They responded that no they didn't. Sri Wheeler asked why that mattered, the concerns were about customers not the workers.

Schlarbaum said it was understood last year that if they needed wristbands that they needed to contact him. He said he assumed that because everyone was happy with the way it was handled last year that they wouldn't need a letter this year.

He also believes that foot traffic from the concert helped Lotus.

He then presented checks to the Vinton Police Department, Benton County Ambulance and the fire department.

Melody Snow spoke on behalf of Vinton Unlimited and reassured the businesses that she would work with the businesses to make the concerts work better for the businesses in the future.

Building Confusion

Stacy Glew spoke to the council about confusion her mother had over construction on her property. She did not understanding what the regulations were concerning construction of a garage. Her mother has her house for sale and Glew found it disheartening to not be able to keep her mother in town over this issue.

Online Video of Meetings

Dakota Sellers also addressed, the council asking that the city consider recording the meetings and placing them on YouTube like the county does making them accessible 24/7. He offered to provide the equipment to the city to use making the city more transparent. He said that it is stated by the city that their goals is to post the meetings on their website. He believes that most of the community would like to be able to access the meetings online. He believes that this would not allow the city to hide in the shadows.He also stated that council members have watched his videos so obviously they feel it's important. He also said that he didn't feel like it should fall on a private citizen's shoulders. He felt that there should be more transparency at the council meetings and the committee meetings. He felt that many citizens would agree that having the meetings online to view at citizens convenience would be welcome.

Rylie Pflughaupt addressed the council countering by stating that "I am in no way doing anything that is 'hiding in the shadows' and I'm really over this narrative being pushed by specific people that we are doing things to hide in the shadows because I've been in all of our meetings and not one thing has been shadowy or deceitful. So to have that narrative to continue to be pushed about us is getting really old. Number two, it should not be a private citizen filming them which is why we are working on it and doing it as fast as we can."

Darran Sellers then addressed the council next. "Not hiding anything. Look at your minutes from February 9, 2023. The agenda was to approve Don Wideman and Dean Luze to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The minutes say Mike Timmerman and Dean Luze who was voted in."

Mayor Bud Maynard closed the comments by assuring the businesses who had presented concerns, that the council would consider the location of next year's concert before final approval was given for the concert next year.

A date was approved for next year's concert for June 8, 2024.

Other business was attended to according to the published agenda.

Photo courtesy of Sri Wheeler.