The St. Mary’s County Alcohol Beverage Board conditionally approved a temporary extension of premises for an outdoor festival at 5 South Event Center, 21030 Pointe Logow Road (applicant John Joseph Winters), scheduled Oct. 8, 2017.

John Joseph Winters presented a written plan describing perimeter fencing, two controlled entry points, on-site security, TAM/ServSafe-certified bartenders and a bar manager. Winters said the event area would be fenced with temporary bicycle-rack style fencing and that the center has roughly 228 parking spaces and an 11,000-square-foot building with a 600-person maximum capacity. He requested the extension for a festival with live music and said he expected actual attendance to be closer to 300 than to 999.

Why it matters: The board placed conditions on the approval designed to align the alcohol permitting with public-safety reviews; the health department (Lugham) and the fire marshal must sign off before the extension becomes final, and the health department indicated that events above 999 attendees trigger a different regulatory regime.

Board action and conditions: The board moved and seconded a conditional approval pending fire marshal and health department (Lugham) approvals and limited attendance to under 999. The motion specified a 30-day conditional and required Winters to deliver approvals and documentation to board staff (Tammy Hildebrand) before full authorization. The board recorded no opposed votes on the motion.

Operational details disclosed: Winters described a two-bar plan (two bartenders at each bar location), 100% ID checks, wristbands and hand stamps to control re-entry, an on-site security manager, and a sound engineer with an ability to lower volume (a “kill switch”). He said the festival would be free admission with an optional charity donation and that tenants in the center had been notified and would be closed that Sunday.

Ending: Board members cautioned Winters to anticipate and plan for potential noise complaints from nearby residences and to coordinate required land‑use and public‑safety permits with the sheriff’s office and other county agencies; Winters was told to submit the fire marshal and health approvals to staff prior to the event.