Committee recommends council renew DORA and allow event-specific temporary boundary activations

Jeff Schilling opened the Law and Ordinance Committee meeting and outlined a recommendation that the council confirm continued operation of the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, and file a renewed application that would allow temporary expansion of the DORA’s boundaries for specific events.

The committee’s recommendation would leave the standard DORA boundaries intact but add the ability to activate three temporary areas on an event-by-event basis, Schilling said. Those activations would require both property-owner permission and council authorization. “As part of our application…property owner permission before the council would authorize that for just very specific events, very specific reasons, very specific times,” he said.

The committee identified two event sets that would trigger temporary activation under the proposal: a June 6 concert at the stadium, and four Fridays in July when Hener Cultural Center’s Friday concerts would relocate from Prowy Plaza to Short Street and the courthouse plaza because Prowy Plaza will be unavailable after the July 4 streetscape project begins. Schilling said the school and park board have agreed to include the senior center and adjacent school property to keep the stadium activation contiguous, and county officials have indicated they are amenable to activation at the courthouse plaza.

Committee members also asked whether the DORA still required the specialized identification cups that had been part of earlier agreements. Members said the council removed the special cups years ago and now uses stickers for identification instead.

Schilling asked for authority to sign any agreements necessary to implement the temporary activations for the stadium event and the summer Friday concerts, subject to legal review by Mr. Kerber and property-owner permission. The committee did not request emergency legislation. Multiple members voiced support to “move forward” with the recommendation to council, and the committee concluded its recommendation by consensus.

Madison Hickman, who identified herself in the meeting as “Madison Hickman, third board,” asked whether an off-site Truckyard event close to downtown would fall under the DORA. Committee members said that location lies outside the DORA boundaries but could be covered instead by a temporary liquor permit with ingress and egress controls.

What happens next: the committee’s recommendation will go to the full council for consideration; any temporary activation would require property-owner consent and council authorization and is subject to legal review.