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Evansville building authority, event organizers reach compromise after festival blocked access to Back 40
Summary
At the Board of Public Safety meeting the Evansville Building Authority raised safety and access concerns after tents and closures at a recent festival blocked access to its Back 40 lot; organizers and city staff agreed on temporary operational fixes and to add the Building Authority to the permit review process going forward.
Dave Rector, a representative of the Evansville Building Authority, told the City of Evansville Board of Public Safety that tents and closures during a recent Mac and Cheese Festival blocked the driveway and parking used for the Back 40 and impeded Evansville Police Department officers’ access. “They couldn't get out. They were driving down the sidewalk to get out,” Rector said, describing vehicles and workers blocked by festival setups that remained through Monday morning.
Event organizer Joe Nader acknowledged the permit-based process but said some operational decisions were made at the last minute because of severe-weather concerns. Nader said his team hired TRU Rentals to install pole tents with 600-pound weights as a safety measure and that the equipment was intended to protect volunteers from an approaching storm. “I didn't realize that it was on their driveway. It was literally adjacent to the sidewalk,”…
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