Lynn says the Day-Long event is being held to help raise awareness about the drug addiction problem in the community.

“This city has never seen an event quite like this. I know that people want to bring awareness to the situation and I believe there is awareness, but we also want to bring solutions,” Chanda Lynn said during an interview with WRFA. “We want to tell people who show  up and are addicted, this is where you can go, this is the help we can get you today. You will hear stories about people overcoming their addictions. You will hear performers and musicians. But, most importantly, you will hear about solutions for this city and we want to let people know that we’ll make you aware of the issue but we’ll also provide a solution.”

• [LISTEN] Community Matters – Chanda Lynn Discusses Rally to Recover Jamestown

The rally will include speakers from across the country, food vendors and tables providing recovery information, and live music from Smackdab, Bill Ward, Amanda Barton, and REM One.

For more information about the event, go to the “Rally To Recover Jamestown” page on Facebook.

Monday night the Jamestown City Council’s Public Safety received an update on the Rally to Recover Jamestown event, which is being organized by local resident and advocate Chanda Lynn Germain.

• RELATED: Community Matters – Chanda Lynn Discusses Rally to Recover Jamestown

Last week the committee denied a permit for the event to take place at the Gorenson Bandshell in Allen Park, due to concerns with the number of people expected to be on hand, parking, and lighting.  The committee suggested the event be moved to the Allen Park Ice Rink and asked Germain to return this week for Monday night’s meeting.

However, as WRFA reported last week, Germain has instead opted to partner with the Sherward Arts Complex on E. 2^nd Street to hold her event. And according to Jamestown Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Chet Harvey, a special event permit is not needed if the event is being held indoors on private property.

Harvey explained to the committee that his staff has been working with the venue operators – Vince Liuzzo and Justin Miller – to ensure the space is code compliant. That includes making attendees aware of sufficient exiting, providing a 15 foot-wide emergency lane, and making sure the maximum number of attendees doesn’t exceed 99 person.

We wanted to make sure it has sufficient exit, and they need to be limiting the number of people that can come through the door. They also have to post a fire watch, who has to be there anytime a person comes into the building. There’s a lot of specifications the fire watch person will have to comply with and they’ll be doing periodic checks throughout the event,” Harvey explained.

Harvey said that if the rally is found to not be in compliance with city or state fire code for any reason during the event, the fire department will work with the organizer to correct the issue, rather than shutting the event down.

The Rally to Recover Jamestown is a free event that is being held to raise awareness about drug addiction in the community as well as the resources that are available, along with a focus on what more can be done. It will run from 1 to 11 p.m.

More details at www.Facebook.com/SaveJamestown.

The Sherwood Arts Complex is located at the Former Dahlstroms Building on E. 2^nd Street.

On Monday night the Jamestown City Council’s public safety committee informed the event organizer, Chanda Lynn of Jamestown, that they would not be able to approve a special event permit for the Rally to take place at the Allen Park Bandshell on Saturday, Sept. 23, citing public safety concerns including a large volume of traffic and people, as well as the event running past 9 p.m.

As a result, Lynn was left scrambling trying to find a new venue. Although the committee recommended the event be located to the Allen Park Ice Rink, it also came with additional expenses that Lynn said she might not be able to raise in a short period of time.

Instead, Lynn announced on Wednesday afternoon that the event would be relocated to the Sherwood Arts complex on E. Second St. in the city.

The complex is run by Justin Miller and Vince Liuzzo, both of Jamestown, who offer the space for projects and events that unite the community.

Rally to Recover Jamestown is an event that geared to raise awareness about recovery from chemical dependency in the Jamestown area. It will feature guests speakers and live music, along with representatives from service organizations to help those seeking more information on the recovery process.

We’ll have more details on the event during our Community Matters program which airs today at 5pm on WRFA.

Chanda Lynn (far right), organizer of the Rally to Recovery Jamestown event scheduled to take place on Sept. 23 at Allen Park in Jamestown, addresses the city council’s public safety committee during its Monday night meeting on Sept. 11.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council’s Public Safety Committee has put the brakes on an upcoming event geared to raise awareness about chemical dependency in the community.

The Rally to Recover Jamestown is an event that is being planned by local addiction advocate Chanda Lynn of Jamestown. She scheduled the day-long event to take place on Sept. 23 at the Allen Park Bandshell in Jamestown.

But the city council’s public safety committee on Monday would not approve a special event application required to hold the event. Chair person Maria Jones cited several public safety issues related to the projected number of attendees, traffic, and the event possibly running past 9 p.m.

“There’s a public safety issue because of the no lighting. The parks close at 9. There’s a request for it going on until 10 or 11,” Jones said, adding, “There’s no bathroom facilities for 500 people. There was a checkbox on the request for no extra police, and somebody’s got to manage [the event]. Additional officers would be required for traffic control. There’s no way 500 people are going to park up there and you’re not going to need extra police.”

The committee members instead suggested the event be relocated to the Allen Park Ice Rink, to accommodate the volume of people and which would have adequate parking. However, the move would also require Lynn provide the city with an additional $570 in rental fees, along with a $500 deposit.

When Lynn said it would be a challenge to raise the additional money on short notice, one committee member suggested she may want to look at having the event in other communities if the cost was going to be a challenge.

“In Lakewood you have Hartley Park. There are other venues outside of the city that may not require incurring these costs but as we pointed out, the city does not have the means to pay for the overtime, the staffing, and everything else,” councilwoman Marie Carrubba said.

Following the meeting, Lynn told WRFA that she will be working to move the event to the Allen Park Ice Rink and is trying to secure additional funding for the relocation. She will update the committee during its Sept. 18 meeting.