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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />August 11, 2020 <br />Page 3 <br />1 prepared appropriately and also sanitary. He indicated he did not know the protocols of that but <br />2 thought there had to be some sort of notification needed in order for that to occur. He explained <br />3 in the application Ms. Solomon stated she did not need any true assistance other than the <br />4 privilege of using the space and if Public Works would be willing to use the blockades to block <br />5 the parking lot space if the parking lot was used and he wondered what was meant by that. Ms. <br />6 Solomon explained she was not sure if the City would be ok with the festival using the parking <br />7 lot space because there is a baseball tournament that Saturday happening all throughout the day <br />8 so if the City was not willing to allow the festival to be in the parking lot space and the grace <br />9 space then the City would need to tell her which space could be used. <br />10 <br />11 Mayor Stille asked in regard to the 250 maximum participants as directed by the State of <br />12 Minnesota for the guidance for safe celebrations and events, how will Ms. Solomon manage if <br />13 more people were to come to the festival. How will that be regulated. Ms. Solomon explained <br />14 she will still try to put the best of her abilities, the protocol she already has in place to social <br />15 distance the vendors and the performance happening at whatever time. There will be marks in <br />16 the ground to show what six feet in distance looks like and hopefully that guideline will be used. <br />17 She will also be announcing that guideline throughout the event to hopefully social distance. <br />18 Mayor Stille thought that limitation will be difficult to be made, which is his point. <br />19 <br />20 Councilmember Randle asked if the insurance policy has been covered. Ms. Solomon explained <br />21 she was not aware she would need to obtain an insurance policy but if that is something that is <br />22 needed then she will get one. Councilmember Randle indicated that is required to rent space. <br />23 Ms. Solomon indicated she was not aware of that and she also did not know she would need to <br />24 rent space because it is public space in the City. <br />25 <br />26 City Manager Casey explained within the City's facility use rentals the parking lot is not one of <br />27 those. The only time the parking lot has been rented has been for VillageFest and WinterFest. <br />28 There is an insurance policy that goes with that but is tied to the liquor operations that both <br />29 events had and was a requirement of that. At this time there is no City requirement to have <br />30 insurance for use of a parking lot but also the City is keeping its eyes wide open in that the City <br />31 is liable at the end of the day if there is any neglect that would be done on the City's behalf that <br />32 would happen in that parking lot. He noted this does bring a new issue on board, if the Council <br />33 so chooses, to add parking lots to reservable places or community services to rent on behalf of <br />34 the City. He thought that needed to be a discussion for a later date. <br />35 <br />36 Councilmember Randle asked why Ms. Solomon wants to have a festival now, in the middle of a <br />37 Pandemic when there are no other cities having festivals and the City of St. Anthony is not even <br />38 having VillageFest. Ms. Solomon kindly disagreed that festivals along with rallies are <br />39 happening in South and North Minneapolis which she has been going to. She understood that <br />40 COVID is a risk but being a part of the movement and being a part of that community is a risk <br />41 worth taking if it is fighting for what she strives for. Although this festival is not intentionally <br />42 towards Black Lives Matter movement, it is to redistribute wealth to black and brown families <br />43 that are well deserved businesses that are under appreciated and to celebrate the black and brown <br />44 families in St. Anthony and show they can be represented. <br />45 <br />