Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Concerns of location and an anticipated 1,000 people in attendance caused Dripping Springs City Council to table a special event and temporary road closure permit application at its Feb. 17 meeting.
Evilhawk Entertainment had its eyes set for a single-day concert and crawfish festival — titled Swampy Tonk: Mudbugs & Music — to be hosted Saturday, March 28, at Pig Pen BBQ in Dripping Springs. In doing so, the event organizers requested a temporary road closure permit for a portion of Hays Street between S. Bluff Street and S. College Street, as well as a portion of S. College Street between US 290 and Hays Street, beginning at noon Friday, March 27, and ending at 5 a.m. Sunday, March 29, or when Hays County officers deem it safe to reopen.
According to community events coordinator Johnna Krantz, the ticketed event will be capped at 1,000 people and property owners within 500 feet have been notified of the application by mail prior to the city council meeting. Two property owners contacted city staff with concerns about this event, but their concerns have been resolved and they have no objections.
“The applicant has been working with nearby property owners to secure designated parking for the attendees of the event,” she said. “They have received permission from the First Baptist Church to use both the paved property and also the field just to the south, which is also owned by the church. I know that the applicant has been in conversation with one or two or maybe more property owners nearby, so we believe that they have made arrangements for an appropriate amount of parking to hold the attendance they are planning on having.”
While she was the sponsor of the item, council member Sherrie Parks stressed that she has some serious concerns of having 1,000 people in a small area for an event. She then asked, knowing that city staff reviewed the item before it was brought to council, what emergency management coordinator Roman Baligad’s thoughts were.
“He didn't give me a lot of feedback about concerns about the attendance level, so more of our discussions, or discussions that I had with Roman, were about traffic management. Making sure that everybody had an accessible route to and from 290 and that the signage was clear, so that people knew how to get in and out around the event while it's happening and also to ensure that in case of emergency, the neighborhoods surrounding the area were still accessible by emergency services,” Krantz responded, as Baligad was not in attendance at the meeting.
Council member Travis Crow agreed with Parks that the event sounds fun, but he emphasized concerns related to overcrowded bathrooms, trash cleanup afterwards and traffic. With the event being in a small area along US 290, and the number of people expected, he asked if the event organizers have been in contact with local law enforcement, as well as clarification on parking.
Applicant Ian Evilsizor explained that for 1,000 people, they plan on about two- and-a-half people per vehicle, so it would be about 500 parking spaces: “I believe we’ve secured enough property for that. Working with the city, the concerns, like Johnna said, was more about traffic flow. We’ve addressed those concerns, as well as in the event of any kind of emergency.”
He added that they have three or four breakaway emergency exits and are in contact with an external security company. There is one currently in contract with an armed guard and two unarmed personnel, as well as an emergency medical technician on site.
Crow said that while he is not saying he disagrees with the applicant, he is voicing his concerns as it may not work out as it is planned.
“It worries me in a way because I see how Founders Day is and Founders Day is a bigger thing, but on this scale, we’ve never done something like this. That location, with people living there, with residents, with 290, it concerns me,” he said. “It all sounds good, but we all know how one thing snowballs into another effect.”
Evilsizor noted that they are targeting an older demographic, as well as the family aspect, for Swampy Tonk: Mudbugs & Music. In the past, they have never had an incident where there has been a medical emergency or law enforcement situation, he said, as they have held events in Stonewall, Houston and concerts at Dreamland before it closed.
However, to his knowledge, they haven’t done anything in a neighborhood like this before.
“We do want to work with the city … We understand that the city hasn’t done anything on that side of the city before. I’ve been in the city for 15 years, so I know it’s new to you guys,” Evilsizor said. “It’s certainly new to us. It’s new to the permitting process, everything. We want to work with you guys. We want to do more events like this, so I understand your concerns.”
He added that all they can do is plan for the best and figure out what worked, what didn’t and how to move forward in the future.
Mayor Bill Foulds said what he is “extremely concerned” about is how bad this will destroy the Ranch Road 12 and US 290 intersection. He said that the traffic would have to go down either San Marcos Street or turn left onto RR 12 to get onto US 290, which would cause even heavier congestion on a weekend.
“I already know how bad [RR] 12 is on a Saturday. We are backed up all the way to Village Grove Parkway on 12, so I can only imagine 400 cars coming and going. They'll be there most of the day. Either turning on San Marcos, but that stacking is not that hard or they're going to go straight on down to 12 and then try to turn left. You'll have two entrances of Walgreens completely shut down to where they can't get out of their parking lot,” Foulds said. “Those are the things that are going through my mind as our residents who live in that area. I think it's a great idea, and I don't vote on this, but I do think just saying yes right now without thinking this through a little bit more on the traffic side, that's my biggest concern.”
Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua also added his concerns of security — with the private security not being as experienced as law enforcement — traffic control and trash.
“Having dealt with the pumpkin festival that was at Founders [Memorial] Park, one of the biggest complaints we heard from the neighborhoods was just the trash that would flow and end up in people’s neighborhoods,” he said. “If we are trying to make this event a success, I think keeping the neighbors as happy as possible and I think having that trash a bit more efficiently handled would be important, as well.”
The city works with Emergency Services District No. 1 and 6, who ultimately, if it becomes a significant event, would be the ones who would respond, Tahuahua said, so they need to have a chance to review it before the event is approved.
“I want to see this event happen, but I think we have a lot of questions … In order for at least me to feel comfortable, you are going to have to hire law enforcement. I think we’ve got to bump up the ratio to match what we require at Ranch Park, which I think at four, they end up requiring a supervisor of some sort,” he stressed. “The other thing is, I’d like to have the ESDs take a look at this.”
Parks agreed that it looks like a great event, but it’s not “sitting well” with her that the ESDs and constable haven’t reviewed this from a traffic standpoint.
Council ultimately voted unanimously — with council member Taline Manassian not in attendance for the item — to postpone the item until the March 3 meeting to allow for further review and updates to the plan by the applicant.
