Public Safety Chair Brent Sheldon said the committee met last week with Organizer Jose Sanchez and Police Chief Tim Jackson to discuss 10 proposed amendments by Council Member At Large Jeff Russell.

He said there was give and take on those amendments, with nine being settled on in the end, “Amendment Number One – The hours of operation will be 9am to 7pm. Originally it was going to end at 8pm. Number two – The total number of vehicles will be limited to 900 cars. This includes spectators and competitors. Depending on the weather and the condition of the fields, the park will be closed to vehicle traffic when capacity is met.”

Another amendment included the Car Club paying for two of the six Jamestown Police Officers at the event with the City of Jamestown picking up the costs for the other four officers.

Resident and former City Council Member At Large Greg Rabb expressed concern that by the City paying for the four officers, it could turn the event into a city-sponsored event thus exposing the city to liability. He added that if the officers are paid for and the event remains a private one that the city would be in violation of the state constitution, “And the gifts provision section that we were very careful I think the entire time I was [Council] President to make sure we did not do that. And that we’re potentially opening ourselves up to an audit by the State Comptroller that could tell us we can’t do that and that we could get into serious trouble.”

Other amendments include music not being allowed to be played from vehicles that are spectating at the event. Competition vehicles are not allowed to randomly test their stereo or exhaust equipment throughout the day.

Snow fencing and barricades will be used to direct traffic away from residential neighborhoods at the conclusion of the event. No parking signs and barricades will be erected by the Parks and DPW Departments as seen fit.

Jamestown Police officers will assist with traffic control at the conclusion of the event. The Two-Step, car limbo, and dance contests will be added to the event with the Jamestown Fire Department being present for the Two-Step competition.

No person shall ride or cling to the outside of the vehicle during the car limbo competition. And the final amendment gives the Chief of Police or his designee the authority to terminate the event at any time. The promoter of the event still bears all costs and responsibilities previously agreed upon.

Council Member At Large Jeff Russell acknowledged that the event has been contentious and that he’s tried to listen to all concerns from members of the community. He said that Bergman Park is not the perfect venue but you can’t please everyone, “I talked to [Parks Manager] Dan Stone about the Jones and Gifford Park. He said that was not feasible because it had been so wet, in his words, that he wasn’t even able to get a mower on that field. He also stated the Jackson-Taylor Park was in a similar situation. That it was too wet and it wasn’t really conducive for this event.”

Ward Four Council Member Marie Carrubba continued to express concern over the noise and traffic that will come with the event, “I am clearly disappointed that more consideration was not given to Ward Four residents in amending the permit application. And I speak on behalf of the Ward Four residents who have concerns about the noise and believe that the type of competition, which is a loud event, is not what should be held in a neighborhood park or any park in the city.”

Councilmember At Large Tamu Graham-Reinhardt thanked Los Contrincantes Car Club President and Event Organizer Jose Sanchez for his work, “When Mr. Sanchez proposed this, he had the best of intentions at heart. He was looking at the fact that this would bring in hotels, this would bring in a little bit of money to the city. He was interested in doing something to support the city. He’s a lifetime resident. And it was just something a little different than what we’ve done on a regular basis.”
Graham-Reinhardt added that Sanchez has done everything the City has asked of him.

The Public Safety Committee also recommended that the Special Event Permit Application be changed to reflect some of the requirements being set forth for the September 18th event.

Public Safety Chair Brent Sheldon said the committee met last week with Organizer Jose Sanchez and Police Chief Tim Jackson to discuss proposed amendments by Council Member At Large Jeff Russell. Those amendments will be presented tonight.

Residents and Council members have expressed concern over the last couple months about possible noise issues related to the car show. All three Public Safety Committee members expressed their support for the event at the August 16th work session.

The special meeting will take place tonight at 5pm in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of City Hall. There will be a public comment session at the beginning of the meeting.

Los Contricantes President Jose Sanchez

The majority of people, including several city council members, who spoke at Jamestown City Council last night spoke in favor of the Los Contricantes Car Show taking place September 18th in Bergman Park. Excessive noise has been the major concern about the event as it includes a stereo contest and two-step exhaust competition.

Councilmember and Public Safety Committee Chair Brent Sheldon said the city and event organizers held a sound test last week at Bergman Park using a city-owned decibel reader and that the sound from the two cars doing the test of their stereo systems did not register on the meter. He stated he didn’t think the noise, based on this test, would be excessive and with Jamestown Police being hired to do security at the event he felt the committee had done its due diligence.

Public Safety Committee members Tamu Graham-Reinhardt and Jeff Russell also stated that noise was their main issue but both also felt the organizers had worked with the city to alleviate their concerns about the event.

Car Club member Esteban Cordova said the club has been established for nearly 3 years and has held events like parades with the cars and motorcycles where noise might have been an issue, “In the past three year, never once did anybody from the Police Department get a phone call from us, or from anybody, saying that the Los Contricantes is making too much noise. Never once. That just shows how much control we have and respect we have for our own community.”

Los Contricantes President and Founder Jose Sanchez said the club’s passion is the community, ” Give us a chance. You can’t judge us on something we have not done yet. If we do do it and it succeeds, it’ll be great for the city. If we don’t succeed, which I doubt it, because I’m a man of my word, we’ll take care of deleting the music and we’ll have a regular car show just like you wanted. But just give us the opportunity to bring something new to this community.”

Ward Four Council Member Marie Carrubba said she’s received many emails, phone calls, and contacts from residents who said they’re not opposed to an event but the fact that it’s a “noise event,” “They feel this is not the right venue. Not in their neighborhood. And the reason why it is zoned R-1 is that it’s a residential neighborhood. It is not a commercial district. It is not a manufacturing district. It is a residential neighborhood. I have had people tell me who live in the east side of the park back up on Parkdale and up on Timber Lane and up in that neighborhood that when there are loud speakers going at the pavilion they can hear it carry into their neighborhood.”

Councilmember Carrubba asked Mayor Eddie Sundquist if Bergman Park is the best location for this event, “I can say though that we’ve held many large events at Bergman Park that have included large sounds. I mean, we’ve had the Labor Day Festival that included bands, fireworks, all kinds of events.”

Council President Tony Dolce said he’d like to give the Car Club a chance, but he still has concerns about Bergman being the right venue as well as the number of people who will be attending the event, “How many cars can physically fit in that park and how many people we should put in that park. As you said, it’s not the largest park in Jamestown. It is my understanding that those cars will be parked on parking lots and not on the fields, so I’m concerned about the number of cars that will be on the parking lot or on the roadways around there.”

Mayor Sundquist added that City Council members do have the ability to make a motion to revoke or change the special event permit, if desired. Dolce said that motion, if made, would be taken up at the voting session on August 30th.

Jamestown City Council

The Public Safety Committee had approved the special event permit for the September 18th event back in June. The City Code allows for the suspension of the noise ordinance where a special event permit has been approved.

Parks Manager Dan Stone told committee members they are planning to place the car music competition at the back of the park in hopes that the woods will provide a sound buffer.

Sanchez said the music competition that starts at 2:30 p.m. will feature two cars with sound systems that can cost over $40,000, “What happens is, they compete between each car. The loudest wins a trophy or an award. We also have the same competition for power wheels. These power wheels, people also spend about $20,000 on speaker equipment. These are actually children competing.”

Sanchez estimates they could have up to a thousand people attending the event with cars coming from Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Council Member at Large Jeff Russell said he’s concerned about the level of noise before music competitions and during, “I still have concerns over the music. I’m thinking about the people like over on State Street, even on the backside of Bergman, outside the city of Jamestown. We all have constituents all in that area. And I think the idea of the event is wonderful and bringing people in from outside but my biggest concern is the noise in this.”

Sanchez agreed with council members and Police Chief Tim Jackson that he would hire police officers to be at the event in addition to the security he was bringing. He also said Car Club members planned to go door-to-door in the nearby neighborhoods to let residents know about the upcoming event.

City staff, City Council members, and Car Club members will meet to conduct a noise test with cars next week at Bergman Park to determine the level of disturbance that could be caused at the event on September 18th.