The Parks and Recreation Board agreed at its Sept. 9 meeting to revisit planning for a 2026 food truck festival at the November board meeting and to begin earlier vendor outreach for the event. Board members said vendors for the prior year were already booked when the board began outreach, and they want to start contacting vendors in November or earlier to secure commitments for 2026.

Members discussed major cost drivers and logistics: porta‑potties, road closure/traffic control and public‑works overtime to monitor any vehicle used to block the road. "If we were to do 2026 festival, we would want to put that on the agenda in November to see what we would like it to look like and start reaching out to people," the chair said. Board members noted that vendor fees could cover major overhead if enough vendors commit.

The board also discussed the possibility of pairing a fall food truck festival with a movie night so attendees could eat before a film screening. The board noted the need to coordinate timing so food‑truck breakdown would not interfere with the movie; one planning idea was a 3‑to‑6 p.m. food‑truck serving window followed by a movie start at dusk. "You could eat earlier and then go to the movie," a member said.

A resident suggested inviting the fire department to display a truck for children; Public Works Director Jeff cautioned that taking a fire truck out of service for a display could compromise response capability. "I don't think they would be willing to put a truck out of service," Jeff said. The board suggested other options, such as a short drive‑by by emergency vehicles.

On staffing, the board agreed that a single public‑works vehicle and one staff person for a four‑hour window to block and monitor the entrance would likely meet safety needs; the board asked staff to include four hours of overtime in budget planning for safety coverage if vendor fees do not cover it.

No formal board vote was recorded specifically on the food‑truck festival at this meeting; the board's formal motion concerned the movie‑night budget request (see related article). The festival planning discussion produced next steps: add the festival planning item to the November agenda, begin vendor outreach early in the winter, and estimate porta‑potty and overtime costs for inclusion in future budget requests.

(Ending) The board will revisit the festival during its November meeting and determine whether to proceed based on vendor interest and council budget decisions.