June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Cass plans public hearings on Lawful Assembly Ordinance
Burch said he worked with Gerchy to be more effective on lake clean-up after the February event and had refunded the $5,000 damage deposit he required before ssuing Gerchy a sheriff's water event permit under state statutes.
The county board has debated for two years whether Gerchy also should be required to obtain a county lawful assembly permit the board issues in addition to the sheriff's permit. The board, after much debate, exempted Eelpout Festival both years.
The board voted Tuesday to set public hearings as the first step to remove from the county's Lawful Assembly Ordinance the requirement that all events on water and covered by the state statute requiring a sheriff's permit should be exempt from the county ordinance.[[In-content Ad]]
"The county is giving up its oversight," Commissioner Neal Gaalswyk reminded his fellow commissioners. While it appears Sheriff Burch has the right balance of setting reasonable requirements for lake event promoters, Gaalswyk said the board might want to reinstate lake events in the Lawful Assembly Ordinance in the future.
In the future if a sheriff fails to set operational criteria or if a sheriff is too stringent to the extent a promoter cannot comply and still make an event profitable, Gaalswyk said the county board might then want to re-apply the Lawful Assembly permitting process.
Tuesday, the commissioners approved Lawful Assembly permits for Moondance Jam Inc., outdoor musical events held on land and not covered by sheriff's water permits. These will be held in June and July.
They approved contracts with Moondance Jam Inc. for the sheriff to provide law enforcement services at those musical events. Moondance must pay Cass County for deputies assigned to the events overtime rate of pay, plus $8 per hour to compensate for fringe benefits, vehicle expenses and administrative costs.
The contract also calls for Moondance to provide security personnel in addition to deputies the sheriff will provide.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving recognized Cass County Sheriff's Office with a MADD Provider Prevention Award, presented March 10 at a statewide recognition and awards ceremony at Target Field. Burch said MADD made special note of the ordinance the county passed within the last year making criminally liable the host of any event where alcohol is served to minors.
Sheriff Burch reported his department responded to 16,951 calls for service in 2010 or about 700 more than in 2009. The last four years total calls have run below the peak of 21,207 hit in 2006. The lowest number of calls in the last 17 years were the 13,538 received in 2002.
Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.
Comments:
You must login to comment.