Rossland council lent its support to the Between the Peaks Music Festival, despite concerns from the public.
At its April 3 council meeting, city staff recommended council classify the event as a “municipally significant event” for liquor licensing purposes, and give an exemption to the good neighbour (noise) bylaw, which would allow the festival to go until 11 p.m.
The festival is planned for Sept. 15 and 16 on private Red Mountain property. The organizers are seeking a special events licence but also want to charge more than the break-even rate for adult beverages.
Staff noted in its report that Shred Kelly held a concert at Red which was also classified as a Special Event for liquor licensing purposes, but organizers did not apply for the “municipally significant event.”
As a result, the event could only charge a maximum of $5.25 per beer, rather than the $7-9 charged by private businesses.
During the public input period, a Rossland man who lives on Mountain View Road raised concerns over the proposed festival.
“Has the organizer organized this type of event before? Not that I’m aware of,” he said. “There was one here about 15 or 20 years ago and it was a disaster.”
The resident also expressed concerns over the noise bylaw, adequate security, drug oversight, camping space, and controls for people parking on private property.
“Those things should all be considered prior to issuance of any liquor licence.”
Representatives from Red Mountain and the Between the Peaks Festival attended and explained what they were proposing.
One member of the delegation said he is an experienced event organizer, and has worked with the Blizzard Music Festival in Rossland for 11 years.
“I have lots of experience hosting events. We have over 2,200 tickets sold every year for Blizzard Music Festival in a situation where we have multiple venues and one outdoor venue. In this case we’d be running an event in one venue, it will have all our coordinators and volunteers there, and we do have an agreement in principle from the Trail RCMP signing off on a liquor permit.”
Rossland Tourism Society president Andres Lukacs also weighed in, saying that in BC events and festivals contribute approximately $1 billion towards the GDP.
“It is a government priority and you can see government funding going to these events,” said Lukacs.
“The Tourism Rossland board is extremely excited about how this turned out and our society voted to be a presenting partner of Between the Peaks to show our support.”
In council’s discussion, Coun. Craig Humphreys was concerned about the lack of camping facilities.
“I think it’s a good idea, but where is everyone going to stay?”
Staff recognized the validity of his concern, but reminded council that the question was not relevant to the specific motions.
Coun. Lisa Kwiatkowski, a veteran organizer of big events, voiced her support, as did Coun. Eliza Boyce, who said, “I appreciate the questions being asked, but I was satisfied by the answers to them.
“It does sound like its intended to be a wholesome festival, and having events is what keeps our city lively, so I would support a two day extension of the noise bylaw and a change to the liquor pricing.”
Mayor Andy Morel also cautioned about the necessity to keep it orderly and provide the necessary facilities for an expected crowd of 1,200 each day. “I would as well echo the concern about camping and this September there will be lots of folks looking for that opportunity I think. So to minimize the impact to the neighbourhood and the Red Mountain area, I think that has to be addressed,” said Morel.
A motion to approve an exemption to the Good Neighbour Bylaw # 2631, to allow for noise to extend past 9 p.m. to no later than 11 p.m., carried unanimously. A motion directing staff to include a definition of “municipal significance” in relation to special events in the forthcoming draft Special Events Policy, also passed unanimously.