Tyrone Bennett, a Palatka resident, told the City Commission on Sept. 3 that he had invested time and lined up financial backers to run the Blue Crab Festival and that he was told on short notice his application had been voided and that the event would be awarded to an applicant who filed earlier.

Bennett said he saw a retraction in a city communication that morning and that the sequence of notices had created public confusion. “It looks a little bit it kinda reeks of a little bit deception and corruption, because things have not been transparent,” he told commissioners during the public-comment period.

Why it matters: The Blue Crab Festival has been treated this summer as a special-event application, and residents who expected open competition said they were surprised by the city’s subsequent statement. Commissioners and staff said clarity about how the city handles multiple applicants for the same date matters because the city does not directly sponsor the event and must apply the same permitting rules to all volunteer-run festivals.

City staff and Community Affairs staff responded during the meeting. Community Affairs staffer “Miss Sandy” (identified in the meeting) said the commission had instructed staff to treat the Blue Crab as a normal special event and to follow the city’s special-event permit process. She said the other organization applied first after the commission’s direction and that staff, after consulting partners, had awarded the date to that applicant. “Once y’all made that decision last week of how we was gonna proceed, we let our partners know that where we was at. And being that miss the other organization came in and applied first, we awarded it to them,” she said.

Assistant city staff also told the commission that the city is no longer funding Blue Crab as a city-run event and is instead applying the standard three-tier (A/B/C) special-event classification used for other volunteer-run festivals. A staff speaker summarized that direction at the Sept. 3 workshop: “that was the decision made at a prior commission meeting to follow the special permits special events permit ordinance as is done for every other event.”

What was not decided or changed: Staff said the award followed the commission’s prior direction and the city’s special-event permitting rules; commissioners did not reverse that decision at the workshop. No formal motion or vote on the Blue Crab award was recorded during the session.

Next steps and outstanding questions: Commissioners and the public asked staff to document the timeline of notices and clarify communications so applicants and the public understand application windows and how staff handles multiple applicants for the same date. Staff told the commission they would proceed with the organization awarded the September 12 date and that the special-event vetting team will meet on Sept. 12 to finalize event details.

Speakers quoted: Tyrone Bennett (public commenter) and “Miss Sandy” (Community Affairs staff) were the primary on-record speakers on this item.

Ending note: The commission did not adopt new written policy at the Sept. 3 workshop; staff said they followed the commission’s earlier direction and the city’s special-event permitting process, and commissioners requested clearer public communication about application timelines and how competing applicants are handled.