The public comment portion that kicked off the Oct. 6 Helper City Council meeting was full of praises and slight concerns for Helper Saturday Vibes.
The first to speak was Kevin Mastin, who wished to continue sharing his concerns with the event. He said that last time he voiced his concerns, they were surrounding the pollution, garbage, graffiti and more that has been noticed since Saturday Vibes started. Another topic he wished to discuss, and one of his biggest concerns, was alcohol consumption.
Mastin stated that when you are a bartender, you must complete classes that require watching videos and taking tests. These aim to teach when someone has had enough to drink and when to excuse them from the bar to discourage car accidents or negative consequences.
Mastin spoke on a recent incident in Salt Lake City where a man sued a bar following a car accident. His concern is, if something similar happens following a Vibes event, the individual will not be able to sue a nonprofit. This means the fault will likely fall to the city and, as citizens, they would pay for it.
However, following Mastin’s comment, the individuals that spoke regarding Saturday Vibes were overwhelmingly positive. Comments came from Melanie Steel, Mark Montoya, CJ McManus, Jana Larsen and more.
The comments ranged from the event providing job opportunities, giving a place for community members and visitors to gather and enjoy an evening with live music and refreshments, and bringing business opportunities to those that own local Airbnbs. From a business point of view, Larsen stated that looking at her revenue, she had a 50% increase on the Vibes Saturdays.
“I cant imagine going backward and taking that away,” said Larsen.
Kimberly Kuehn, who created and works to organize the event, also spoke. She began with how much she loves Helper, stating that she is excited to be in the community. She wished to express that she is committed to the community whether that be an event or council, or anything unfolding of Helper.
Kuehn wanted to let the council know that she has enjoyed the last two years of working with an incredible team, stating the new energy in the town has been great. “I want to support them and support the city, together as a team,” said Kuehn.
Following the public comments, Allie Farnham, Saturday Vibes Market Manager, was joined by Kuehn to present their end-of-season report and survey results. There was an estimated 13,000 attendees this year, over the course of the ten events, with 76% of the attendees residing in Carbon County and 24% coming from outside of the area.
Through the ten events, they hosted 20 Utah bands and six fundraising campaigns. There were five themes, one per month, and one performer that engaged with the crowd during the themed events. Though vendor booth fees increased slightly this year, there was a noticed increase in the total number of vendors that registered and participated this season at 102 total. Last year, the vendors were at about 50, meaning that they successfully doubled the numbers. Seven of those were Main Street merchants or businesses.
Of the responders, 36% stated that expectations were met from the vendors and some even said that they were exceeded. Continuing, 66.7% of community responses said that the event being hosted every other Saturday, or twice per month, was favorable.
Recycling and zero-waste efforts continued and were successful. Staff was increased by 50% and 30 part-time and seasonal positions were created, all of which are current residents of Carbon and Emery counties.
Turning the attention to the Helper resident survey, there were 71 paper surveys that were handwritten and turned into city hall, as well as 482 Google form responses. This totaled 553 responses and Farnham shed light on improvement in regard to the survey.
The survey showed 47% of businesses reported a positive effect from Vibes. Additionally, 7% of individuals voted for weekly Vibes, 36% were in favor of twice per month and 40% that took the survey voted to discontinue Vibes. This means that 60% of the responders hope that Vibes would continue.
Of these surveys, 260 had written responses. Farnham read each point of feedback and noticed some trends in regard to the constructive feedback. The first is property damage, the second is use of city resources, then parking, traffic and public service vehicle access. Alcohol management or not being a family-friendly event also came up.
The Vibes team spoke with staff and residents to develop a list of proposed solutions that they feel very confident will eliminate the issues. Firstly, Vibes wants to hire one or two local police officers per event. They also spoke with the Helper City Fire Chief, who stated that the emergency responses are a lot slower when they have to divert around Main Street.
Farnham proposed closing Railroad Avenue from the fire station to the auditorium and only allowing emergency vehicles in that space. The road closure can also be moved to 3:30 p.m. to allow vendors time while also honoring and respecting businesses on Main Street.
Vibes is also going to be introducing the option for a “mocktail” during their events, which is an alcohol-free mixed drink. They also plan to expand the kids’ activities. Farnham stated that they feel confident that with these proposed solutions, they will be able to address all of the areas of feedback.
The team has approached the council more than once with the hopes of a 3-5 year continued partnership agreement, allowing them to plan for the future. Other than the length of the contract, Farnham stated that they are keeping things the same, other than the aforementioned proposed solutions.
“Our number one choice and priority is twice a month; we’d love to continue doing what we’re doing,” said Farnham. This will mean the events will take place from May to September and there will be ten events hosted from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Before a decision was made, Helper City Mayor Lenise Peterman said that she believed it was important to note that there were many comments and, unfortunately, they were not all positive. Councilman Gary Harwood said that the event continues to grow and with the solutions presented, he believes it can continue twice per month.
Councilman Dave Dornan agreed, stating that it would be a travesty for the council to discourage growth and that there is something for everyone at the events. Mayor Peterman then encouraged Farnham and Kuehn to continue to engage with businesses more.
With this plethora of information at hand, Councilwoman Malarie DeVincent made the motion to continue Helper City’s partnership with Saturday Vibes for the duration of two years, with the twice per month dates. This was ultimately approved by the council.