First multi-day event approved for amphitheater

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Some surprising information came out of the recent Key West City Commission vote to approve a four-day country music festival at the new amphitheater in Truman Waterfront Park.

First, some commissioners were surprised that the four-day noise exemption granted to the music festival counted as one, not four, of the six annual exemptions allowed at the amphitheater. And second, that the city will receive only $5,000 for the four-day rental of the venue, from Feb. 7-10.

Commissioner Margaret Romero said that “a majority” of people in town, including her, believed that when officials limited the number of noise exemptions allotted to amphitheater to six per year to address concerns from nearby neighbors, that meant six nights a year. But City Manager Jim Scholl said noise exemptions can span several days per event. He pointed to Fantasy Fest, which although granted one noise exemption, extends over a several-day period.

“They [noise exemptions] are not individual days per event,” he said, adding that once a noise exemption is granted, city officials must wait 60 days before granting another exemption at that location.

Commissioner Sam Kaufman was also concerned.

“Remember, we told the residents it would be six times a year that there would be an exemption to the noise ordinance. And six times a year times four nights, that’s 24 nights. I just don’t think it’s fair to the families and working people… one, two, three, four nights in a row. We told them it would be six in an entire year,” he said.

Kaufman, Romero and Commissioner Jimmy Weekley voted against granting the four-night noise exemption. But the final vote was 4-3 in favor so the motion passed.

The motion, however, did reduce the hours of the event, which is advertised as a four-day singer-songwriter concert that will also showcase performers in in five Duval Street bars during the day. OhWook! Productions is the event promoter and festival organizer Tim Cable initially asked that the amphitheater concerts run until 1 am all four nights. A motion by Billy Wardlow to shorten the hours to 11 pm was voted down. A second motion by Clayton Lopez to limit the amphitheater shows to 10 pm on Wednesday and Thursday and 11 pm on Friday and Saturday passed.

Cable said his production company has operated multiple concerts and was experienced in moving concert goers out of the event location quickly after a show. But he said the current musician line-up for the event has the music going until midnight.

“We’re definitely open to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. But 10 o’clock is pretty early to cut a show off,” he said.

Weekley said that the 10 pm curfew should apply to all four evenings. The first two days of the event are school nights, he pointed out.

“The distance between your event and residents or neighborhoods are a lot closer than probably any event you’ve put on anywhere else. You have to take that into consideration,” he told Cable.

As to the $5,000 fee charged to OhWook! Productions for the four days it will use the amphitheater, some commissioners had hoped for more to begin recouping the $4 million cost of the amphitheater, which is still under construction. Of that $4 million, the city put in half while the Monroe County Tourist Development Council gave a $2 million grant for the remainder.

Mayor Craig Cates pointed out that in addition to the $5,000 rental fee, the city will collect a $2 per ticket surcharge with the number of tickets capped at 3,500, the seating capacity of the amphitheater. He argued that since the amphitheater is so new, it was important not to charge fees that would drive away potential event promoters.

“I’m sure we’ll get more money for these events in the future. But this is our first one. And it’s sort of like a promotion to get this thing off the ground,” he said.

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