Aldermen create way for Chick’s on the River event to co-exist with Freedom Fest along riverfront on July 3

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council appears to have found a way for two events to co-exist on July 3.

Aldermen approved an event from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 3 at Chick’s on the River, 236 N. Front, at their June 12 meeting. The area is be barricaded, and liquor ordinances were waived. A live entertainment/public gathering license for live music also was approved. A special event application, however, was not filled out.

A special event application from Quincy Freedom Fest, Inc., requesting permission to hold the Quincy Freedom Fest on July 3-4 in Clat Adams Park, was on Monday’s agenda. Organizers asked for the closure of Front Street between Hampshire and Vermont from 3 p.m. July 3 through 11 p.m. July 4, with the city providing barricades. The Quincy Police Department recommended approval of the waiver of liquor ordinances, as well as a live entertainment/public gathering license for live music.

During the public forum portion of the meeting, Roni Quinn asked on behalf of Freedom Fest organizers why Chick’s didn’t fill out a special event application while Freedom Fest did. City Clerk Laura Oakman said special event applications are only needed for events at which more than 250 people are expected to be present.

“My request to you (aldermen) is to do a retroactive denial of (the Chick’s) request for multiple reasons,” Quinn said. “The big one is they don’t have their application on file. Their insurance is (not) on file, and their no hold harmless agreement is not on file. Freedom Fest, year after year, reserves those two dates (July 3-4) for that area. Within the special event policy, it is also stated that no two events on the same dates for the same general area can be approved.”

Alderman Eric Entrup (R-1) asked if the two events could happen at the same time.

“If they can get their stuff in, sure. I think that would be fair,” Quinn said. “But I do not think it’s fair that they’re allowed to host their event and not have what they need (on file).”

Freedom Fest started in 2021. The event at Chick’s is in its first year.

Aldermen unanimously approved the petition. However, at the end of the meeting, Ben Uzelac (D-7) asked to amend the June 12 request for Chick’s on the River. He asked for the city to close on July 3 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. the north and south parking lanes on Vermont from Front Street extending east to the north-south alley, as well as the closure of the west lane and parking lane from Front Street from the south side of Vermont extended north a distance of 85 feet.

“To clarify, this is to allow this event and Freedom Fest to co-exist, hopefully, harmoniously,” Uzelac said.

Jeff Mays, director of administrative services, told aldermen Uzelac’s amendment was “the way that they can do on this day and only this day.”

“We’re going to basically move the request from Chick’s from Hampshire back to the second curb cut so the Freedom Fest folks can have the entire Shortridge lot and full access to it,” Mays said. “The Chick’s event will start then at that point and proceed south through Vermont on the west side, and they can still get their things going that way.”

Mays said Chick’s will have customer-only parking available on Vermont.

“Just trying to make it work,” Mays said.

Oakman repeated that no more than 250 people are expected to be present at Chick’s, so a special event application was not needed. “We are following the application process,” she said.

Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte corrected Oakman. 

“A block party is different from a restaurant closing a street and having a public event and alcohol,” he said. “(Chick’s) should be submitting a full application. They’re closing the street, and they’re having the public come to an event, requiring city services. That’s what the special event application is for.”

Oakman said several bars in town close streets for events for which they expect 50 people or less to attend. Conte repeated that Chick’s event requires a special event application.

“They submitted a live entertainment (license), but they didn’t do the special (event application),” Conte said. “They don’t have the hold harmless agreement, and they don’t have the insurance as required to protect the city. If they don’t have that, they shouldn’t hold the event.”

“Jeffrey, I was advised by your assistant that they did not need to have that,” Oakman said. “That’s why in my eyes they were doing everything appropriately.”

“They were not,” Conte said. “As far as I’m concerned, the problem is that they’re using city streets, they’re going to have the public there, they don’t have the hold harmless and they don’t have the insurance requirement, which is the whole point of the special event application. It’s to protect the city. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing, and right now, we have no protection from the Chick’s on the River.”

Because the City Council already approved the Chick’s event, Uzelac asked for aldermen to approve his amended request. 

“We need to approve this motion that’s on the table so the Freedom Fest can continue to have an event,” Uzelac said. 

Mecki Kosin, vice president of the Freedom Fest, said her organization’s issue was with insurance.

“We have insurance for the whole Shortridge lot, and we were asked to share that lot with Chick’s,” Kosin said. “That’s where we said no. What is going to happen if some of their people who buy alcohol run into a car of our people or something like that? The fact that they didn’t have insurance was the rub. That’s the only rub.”

Kosin said Freedom Fest has $3 million worth of insurance because alcohol is sold at the event. She said alcohol will be sold at the Chick’s event, and it has no insurance other than “normal business insurance.”

Kosin also said both events have bands slated to play at the same time.

“Our band’s stage is going to be set up down by the new bridge where it was last year, and their stage is right above that,” she said. “Whoever has the most amps is going to win.”

John Spake, treasurer of Freedom Fest, thought the parking lot usage and street closure compromise would work, but he also suggested everything be made contingent on Chick’s getting the required insurance and filling out a special event application. Uzelac amended his motion to include those points, and the aldermen approved it.

“Could somebody makes sure they reach out to Chick’s to let them know they’re missing required information?” Uzelac said to end the discussion.

Aldermen also:

• Approved a special event application from Cheerful Home Child Care and Early Learning Center, 315 S. Fifth, to hold a color walk/run on July 29.
• Approved a special event application from Quincy Boat Club, 401 Bonansinga Drive, for an inter-club party on July 21-22 on club-owned property.
• Approved a bid of $459,827.80 from Rees Construction Co. for the North 17th Street project from Oak to Elm. 
• Approved a bid of $316,110.75 from Hood Construction Group of Rushville for the reconstruction of Van Buren east of South 24th. 
• Approved a bid of $298,040.96 from Rees Construction for the Jersey streetscape improvement project from Eighth to Ninth.
• Heard from Troup the city has issued more than $89 million in building permits this year. By comparison, the city issued $43 million in permits in 2022, $31 million in 2021, $33 million in 2020 and $36 million in 2019. The city issues $96 million in building permits in 2018, and “based on the discussions we are still having with developers, we clearly will be above 96 million by Christmas,” the mayor said. “That says a lot about our community, the people who are investing in it, and those of us who live here. That’s just good news to share.”