Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Events Streets topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Organizers ask council to OK an earlier, expanded street closure for Up and Smoke barbecue festival
Summary
Up and Smoke Committee asked the council to place a modified street-closure plan on the consent agenda so additional food vendors and art booths can be accommodated; organizers said electrical and water logistics constrain layout changes.
The Lincoln Committee of the Whole on July 29 placed on the consent agenda a request from the Up and Smoke Committee to modify street closures for the city’s late-August barbecue festival so food trucks and art vendors can be rearranged and additional vendors accommodated.
Kevin (last name not specified), a member of the Up and Smoke Committee, told the council the change would move the Broadway closure to noon on the event day so food trucks can be staged earlier and space can be made for a downtown business that wants to participate as a food vendor. “The noon part is because the food trucks will start showing up,” Kevin said. He asked the council to approve a closure that would also extend down to Chicago Street at one organizer’s request and would keep a minimum 8-foot corridor for emergency vehicle access as required by the event’s master safety plan.
Kevin said the festival’s power and water needs drive the layout. He described multiple 200‑amp temporary power drops the barbecue committee has installed over the years, and said the committee has invested more than $30,000 in equipment and infrastructure, including a directional bore under Kickapoo Street and conduit for RV pedestals. “Every one of these red dots is 200 amps. So, we’re dragging a lot of 3 aught cable up and down the street to get everything hooked up,” Kevin said.
Committee members noted the changes would affect downtown businesses and the courthouse. Kevin said handicap spaces across from the post office will remain available and that the courthouse staff is notified well in advance; the organizers keep the alley behind Sherwin Williams and Gazzardos open for deliveries. Miss McClellan thanked the organizers and said she supports the extra closure for safety and the children’s area. Miss O’Donoghue asked for clarification on the closure time; Kevin confirmed Broadway would close at noon.
The committee placed the modification on the consent agenda. No council vote was taken at the meeting; the record shows organizers and several council members discussed logistics, safety, and impacts on downtown businesses. The festival is scheduled for the last weekend in August.
Next steps: the council will consider the modified closure at its next regular meeting and organizers said they will respond to questions from residents and businesses between now and the event.
