Trustees raise safety and permitting concerns over proposed Belmont-weekend carnival on fairgrounds

Ballston Spa trustees and staff asked an event promoter to consult Saratoga County and to supply a safety plan, traffic plan and insurance after receiving a special-event permit application for a proposed Belmont-weekend carnival.

Clerk Carla told the board the village code allows the clerk to require documents addressing public health, safety and welfare and that county officials handle mass-gathering permits for events above 5,000 people. "Under the mass gathering permit that is county DOH's purview," Carla said, and added the village can still require a safety plan, traffic plan and immediate proof of insurance.

Council members were prompted by correspondence in which the applicant claimed an 8,000 attendance figure on the permit and, separately, posted as many as 20,000 RSVPs on social media. Trustees said those numbers, if accurate, could trigger county review and require more extensive planning. "If they're serious promoters already seeking vendors and RSVPs, this should have been figured out well before that," one trustee said.

The board directed staff to advise the applicant to consult the county Department of Health about a mass-gathering permit and to provide the village with a safety plan and insurance; trustees also signaled they would expect coordinated traffic and EMS planning with police and fire.

What happens next

The applicant must decide whether to pursue county review; the village clerk may require a safety, traffic and insurance package before the board acts further. Trustees said public comment would be accepted if a formal permit request is scheduled for review.