CLARKS SUMMIT — During the Clarks Summit work session Aug. 25, Clarks Summit resident Lance Miley, founder of the non-profit organization Making Music Matter for Kids, and Robin McArdle, the organization’s president, spoke to council about their block party, which was scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 21, being canceled.
Miley said they were notified by Clarks Summit police chief Chris Yarns on Aug. 4 that the event was shut down because of an absence of an application, which was a mistake. McArdle said that they actually applied for the application back on March 26. She added that they proceeded with the event.
“We have a non-profit (organization) that we provide for low-cost music lessons to children,” she said. “And that event was to raise funds for that.”
McArdle added that the idea for this event when they were title sponsors for the block party, which the Abington Business & Professional Association (ABPA) held a few years ago.
“We figured why not do it our side of the street (Zimmerman Street) and bring in some income for the children?” she said.
McArdle said that the block party was going to be a free event with raffles and sponsors. She said that she didn’t understand why they couldn’t have a block party. She mentioned that she and Lance lost a lot of money in advertising. She said that the cancellation was very last minute.
“We could’ve had the event anywhere else but could not ten days before the event,” said Miley.
Borough manager Virginia Kehoe acknowledged that Miley and McArdle had applied for a block party permit to close down Zimmerman Street for the block party. She mentioned that the permit was granted. She explained that Yarns saw the advertising about bands across the country and became concerned about the crowds that would be drawn by them.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a policy that covered that,” she said.
Solicitor Kevin Hayes added that Yarns was concerned that the event would draw so many people that he wouldn’t have the personnel to maintain public safety.
“That’s a primary objective for the borough,” he said. “To maintain public safety.”
Kehoe said that she agreed to have the block party. She mentioned that she had no reason to notify the police. She admitted that council was unprepared for what they were presenting. Hayes asked Miley and McArdle about how many people they were anticipating to attend the block party. Miley replied that around 1,000 people replied on their Facebook page. He said that he used $10,000 from the Google grant to advertise the block party.
“We’re just looking to get compensated somehow,” he said. “We’re an organization that wants to help kids in the area.”
Hayes told him that he should’ve had a meeting with the police department well in advance.
“Respectfully, if you’re going to have an event of that size, you need to meet with our police department,” he said.
Kehoe added that she never expected the possibility of having about 1,000 people in town.
“I feel awful about this, but I’m not going to accept the entire responsibility on myself,” she said.
Miley said that his non-profit organization attracts a lot of sponsors and has 13,000 people on social media involved in it.
“We want to support the borough,” he said. “That’s what we wanted to do. We’re doing something positive in the area, and we’re getting shut down.”
McArdle added that she found it insulting when Yarns said that the town isn’t ready for “acid rock.” Miley said that’s when Yarns contacted her because he was overwhelmed by the event’s response. Councilman David Jenkins said that the event needed public safety for the event from the fire department and the ambulance.
Hayes concurred with Jenkins by saying, “If you’re going to have an event where you have potentially a thousand people, you need to have an ambulance there.”
Miley asked why the ABPA didn’t need an ambulance when they had their block party. Haye replied there wasn’t a thousand people attending the ABPA’s block party. Miley said that there could’ve been a thousand people there since the ABPA has 7,000 people on their social media alone. Kehoe apologized for someone using the term “acid rock,” and confirmed that it was not the issue. She told Miley and McArdle that they should’ve called the sheriff’s office or fire department.
“We don’t run the fire department,” she said. “They’re an independent group.”
Kehoe said that council never had an issue with Making Music Matter for Kids. Councilman Josh Mitchell said that there was no awareness on council’s level until the ad came out. He said that the police department didn’t want to handle this event.
“Assumptions were made on both sides that you were doing what you needed to do,” he said. “We assumed that it was nothing more than what we consider a typical block party.”
Council president Gerrie Carey said that the main thing is to make sure everyone is on the same page. She advised Miley and McArdle to lay out plans and come to council to let them know.
Miley recalled receiving a phone call on Aug. 4 and that there was a meeting that night to withdraw the approval. He asked Hayes if he was the one who withdrew it. Hayes replied it was a decision by the police department. He said that the event was considered to be a block party. McArdle mentioned that it was said that the students of Making Music Matter for Kids didn’t get to perform after working all year for the performance.
“(The students) got shut down,” she said. “Not us. This isn’t about us. We’re upset for those kids.”
Kehoe apologized but mentioned that she never had the experience in this issue. McArdle said that by following council’s rules, her organization suffered. Carey told them if they have any other event in the future, they should bring it to council.
“We’ll be more than happy to support you,” she said.
Jenkins suggested if an event has more than 250 people, council needs to bring the sheriff’s department to assist with the police department. He said that they don’t have the resources to control 500 or 1,000 people.
“We have to look at this realistically,” he said. “And we also have to make sure these people have lots and lots of liability insurance.”
Kehoe said that she and Hayes will develop two forms and bring them to council during the next work session.
