News

By Jane Smith

    Forty-five residents, business owners, band members and festival organizers trotted before the Delray Beach City Commission on a Tuesday night in June. They gave two-minute pitches on special events.
    Most favored the events because they create a “vibe” for the city.
    In particular, they want to save the Garlic Festival. That event shares its carnival-ride income with area nonprofits and allows volunteers to receive credit for their hours that translates into cash for their organizations, said founder Nancy Stewart-Franczak.
    “I have to take my hat off to the event organizers with how this room was packed. I am impressed with the grassroots campaign that is a testament to how much the city appreciates and cherishes these events,” Commissioner Jordana Jarjura said.
    Even so, the four commissioners in attendance directed the city manager to continue with their plans to develop a special events policy.
    “You clearly articulated the direction we provided you at the goal-setting session,” Jarjura told Don Cooper, the city manager.
    No changes will be made for the upcoming season, but for the following season of 2016-17 the special events policy likely will be in place.
    It will be an 18-month process because of the number of special events, Cooper said. “We want to reinforce the city’s brand, not eliminate special events,” he said.
    The new policy would identify the so-called “hometown” events held during the season — Veterans Day, Holiday Parade, Christmas Tree Lighting, First Night and Tennis Tournament. The Delray Affair, privately produced, would be grandfathered in because it grew out of the Gladiolus Festival, held when the city was known as the Gladiolus Capital of the World.
    The policy defines the season as October through April and a major event as one with attendance over 5,000.
    Under the proposed policy, a major private event cannot take place in the same month as a “hometown” event, leaving only March and October with vacancies in the central business district.  The policy also defines the central business district as Atlantic Avenue between Swinton Avenue on the west and Federal Highway on the east, extending one block north and south.
    The new policy would limit road closures to four events: St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Veterans Day Parade, Holiday Parade and Delray Affair. Carnival rides would be prohibited in the central business district.
    The four commissioners — Mayor Cary Glickstein was absent — also agreed to direct festival sites to other areas that might need promotion. In addition, they want to make sure each private event covers the true cost of city services, including public safety and maintenance.
    The commissioners also talked about the declining quality of the events. “Not every event has to have hot dogs, kettle corn and booze,” said Deputy Vice Mayor Al Jacquet. He wants to diversify the types of events in the city.
    “Tonight is just the starting point,” said Vice Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who chaired the workshop in Glickstein’s absence. “We are heading in the right direction.” She would like to see the Delray Affair have fewer booths and situate them to face the retailers and restaurants.
    Commissioners also agreed with a resident who pointed out that the new special events office would add a layer of bureaucracy when the city is trying to centralize planning for the events.
    Petrolia hopes the city doesn’t have to wait until October 2017. She would like to see changes made by October 2016 so that residents and business owners could see the results in the following season.  
    The commissioners are trying to gain control over the events, but as one of the speakers pointed out, the title of the report, “Events are Great,” was a turnoff. Jarjura said the complaint was “nitpicking” and compared the title to an ad slogan, “we ‘heart’ small business.”