Festival planning: council reviews EMS/fire staffing, road closures and parking plans

Town festival organizers and public-safety officials outlined staffing, road-closure timing and parking plans for the upcoming festival, and the council discussed barricade placement and neighborhood impacts.

Ryan (speaker 11), representing law enforcement/event planning, and a fire official (speaker 10) described multi-purpose staffing: two mixed fire/EMS carts will circulate during the event and a designated ALS transport unit will be stationed to support patient transport. Officials said the fire-safety trailer will be operated by an Explorer program this year with supervision because a prior partner is unavailable.

Ryan laid out typical road-closure timing: barricades are set up around 8 a.m. on Saturday, road closures generally run from about 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and crews start removing barricades after crowds clear, often between 6–7 p.m. He recommended barricading 296 at East Hopkins to reduce neighborhood intrusion and discussed shuttle-based overflow parking options. Council members and staff discussed using town fields for contingency parking and ensuring any privately run shuttle lot is attended and safe.

Organizers said they will continue planning and invited council to the next festival meeting (Sept. 8) and to communicate any last-minute needs. Council agreed staff should coordinate logistics with law enforcement and fire to ensure clear signage, barricades and a plan for train/timing conflicts at the stage.

The council requested follow-up on exact barricade placements and coordination with property owners if specific streets are affected.