At our last meeting there was a concern raised by Councilmember Cloven regarding the Classic Car Show series that the City has been sponsoring for many years. Apparently there was confusion as to whether or not it was a City sponsored event, and if not, why did the Car Show not pay the same fees for use of City property as other privately sponsored events.
Given the City is the one entering into contracts with vendors (2019 electronic draft, executed copy on file with the City), the City is the one soliciting donations and collecting receipts, it is clear that the Car Shows are City sponsored events. In fact, here are the minutes from 2015 that show the discussion around the City taking on the event. In addition, as it is a City sponsored event, the City is the one paying invoices. All of this should have been known to Cloven, as he was the one who signed their checks last year.
The City does not charge itself for use of its own facilities. The attempt to draw some kind of equivalency between a City sponsored event and a privately sponsored event is baseless. It's unfortunate that rather than look for ideas on ways the City could balance its budget, time is spent on frivolous political theater.
While Cloven should have known all of this, I could see how members of the public may have misunderstood who was putting on the Classic Car Shows. This is because historically in an effort to document the activities that would transpire, permits were pulled for certain City sponsored events. There is no requirement to pull permits or pay city fees for City sponsored events, but because it is important that the scope of each event is clear, the existing permitting process was used as a convenience. Later this year the City will adopt a comprehensive City Events Policy to add clarity to the overall process.
