AmeriCade organizer asks Joint Parks O&M Committee to reactivate festival electrical panel; committee says it cannot act today

Ken Mark, an organizer for AmeriCade, asked the Joint Parks O&M Committee on May 22 to have National Grid reactivate a 480-volt electrical panel at the northwest corner of Festival Commons and along Beach Road so he could connect a step-down transformer to supply food vendors.

The request, made during the committee's public comment period, centered on reducing the number of diesel generators AmeriCade has needed to power vendors. Mark said the event used three generators last year and was down to one this year; his goal is to have no generators next year so diesel would not run close to the lake for multiple days. He asked that the panel be turned on for load-in and turned off afterward.

Committee staff said the panel originally was installed and paid for by a winter event — discussed variously in the meeting as “Winter’s Dream,” “Winners realm” and similar phrasings — and that its activation and usage costs should not be borne by the county. An assistant county attorney present advised that, if the county arranges activation, the county should place the service in its name and invoice AmeriCade for usage and the turn-on/turn-off charges.

The committee did not take formal action at the meeting. Staff said they would call National Grid to inquire about timing but noted this request was not on the agenda and the committee could not make a binding decision immediately. The assistant county attorney also told the committee that an arrangement like this should be documented in a contract; staff said the current contract with the event organizer has not been finalized and that a contract amendment would need review before any recurring arrangement could be authorized.

Mark gave logistical details on the timing of the event: vendor load-in starts Monday, with move into Festival Commons late Monday or early Tuesday, and fencing scheduled to begin the following day. He offered to provide contact information and to return to the committee with written specifications and a formal proposal for future upgrades, including installing a step-down transformer and other small electrical improvements.

Committee members said they would pursue information about costs and billing but emphasized the committee’s limited authority at the session. One staff member suggested that, moving forward, upgrades or additional service should be paid for by the event organizer and documented in contract amendments. Mark said he could provide more detail at a future meeting to support such a request.