Waukesha board backs 'Guitar Town' festival at Cutler Park, recommends contract to council

The Waukesha Parks, Recreation and Forestry Board on Nov. 17 voted unanimously to recommend a contract with Soundcheck Entertainment LLC for the Guitar Town Music Festival, a free, daytime music event proposed for Cutler Park on Saturday, June 13, from noon to 8 p.m.

Board members heard a presentation from Joanna, a staff presenter, and Brad Smith, a music-industry consultant, who outlined programming, logistics and community partnerships. "Les Paul is a treasure," Smith said, and the festival would "celebrate Les Paul" while promoting original music from area performers.

Staff and presenters said they have met with the police and fire departments and that the safety and security plan has been reviewed and approved. Joanna described on-site staffing plans: "We will have seasonal staff that would be on-site throughout the day that would help manage the trash" and volunteer greeters to assist ingress. Presenters said the city would manage concessions and that volunteers would wear brightly colored shirts and coordinate with police if issues arose.

Members asked about staffing levels and cleanup costs. A staff presenter said police recommended staffing similar to Tribute Tuesday events with one officer supported by community service officers and reserves for a first-year event; fire would not likely be on site but is nearby. On concessions, staff said the model would use food trucks and a beer concessionaire rather than tented booths.

After discussion about parking, crowd control and possible street closures, Steve Johnson moved to approve the contract recommendation; Sarah Roth seconded. The board voted and the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: the board forwarded the contract recommendation to the common council for final approval and will share event parking and public-safety details on the event website as plans are finalized.