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Board OKs July 11 street closure for neighborhood "porch parties" and approves swim-club facility-use agreement
Summary
The board approved a street closure July 11 for a progressive "porch parties" music event organized by Muncie Action Plan and partners, and approved a facility use agreement for the Cardinal Community Swim Club that permits in-kind services in lieu of fees; a public commenter raised concerns about fairness.
The Muncie Board of Works and Safety approved a street-closure application on June 17 to allow a progressive neighborhood music event organized by the Muncie Action Plan and partners on July 11. Heather Williams, speaking on behalf of the group, described a route that snakes through the Old West End with local bands doing 20-minute sets and coordination with the Canon Commons music festival so attendees can move from the porch parties to Canon Commons.
"We are co hosting an event with Old West End, Office of Community Engagement, Muncie Arts and Cultural Council, Downtown Development... Muncie's 1st porch parties event," Heather Williams said, describing the plan and partner organizations. The board voted to approve the street closure and indicated documents would be signed after the meeting.
Separately, the board approved a facility use agreement with the Cardinal Community Swim Club. Adam Leach, city engineer, said the longstanding arrangement allows the local swim club to provide in-kind services—for example, painting or pool cleaning—as partial value in lieu of paying the full facility-use fee; Leach estimated the value or fee in the general range of $2,750 if no in-kind services are provided.
"In previous years, they have... done cleaning... If they provide no in kind services, they would be required to basically just pay that as a facility use agreement," Leach said.
A public commenter identified as Rick Yancerer criticized the arrangement, saying the city had reduced program days and suggested the club’s rental should help support keeping the pool open for everyone. "Now, you're telling me that you're taking money from a... public facility... maybe they should help you keep it open for everybody," the commenter said. The board approved the agreement after the discussion.
Both actions were approved during the meeting; staff indicated the street-closure documents and facility-use signatures would be completed immediately after adjournment.
