Having a Party? Better Call City Hall

A re you planning a little get-together with friends sometime this spring? If you live in Dayton, you may need to get permission from the city first.

City Council member Dain Nysoe is spearheading an effort to require city residents who are planning an event to submit a "Special Events Permit Application" first.

The draft application that was reviewed by members of the council's public safety committee on Thursday (I got my grubby hands on a copy too) is 12 pages long, single spaced. It's a lightly edited version of one used by the city of Ephrata, Wash.

(Near the top of Page 1 it actually says, "Don't let the size of this packet intimidate you!" That made me feel better.) The thing is that nowhere in all its verbiage does the document specify what types of events will need a permit. So I guess we must assume that they all do - in- cluding your little back-yard barbeque.

Here are some of the things you'll need to do before you throw your bri- quettes on the grill:

First of all, you'll need to submit something called a fact sheet/timeline. A site map must also be submitted, showing locations of proposed parking, fences, stages, toilets and trash containers. And you'll need to provide samples of advertis- ing for the event. So you'd better cc the city on those invitation emails.

And call your agent, because you're going to need liability insurance. $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, to be pre- cise. And don't forget your health department permit. You'll also need a tempo- rary use permit, with application submitted to the city planning director at least 30 days prior to the event.

And the kicker is that you're going to have to pay the city for their trouble on account of your little func- tion. You may have to pay a "park and/or open space rental fee and damage deposit." And here's my favor- ite: you'll have to pay for the cost of city staff "to ensure that park rules and the permit agreement are enforced." So there.

The permit package in- cludes the application form, a comprehensive contact list form, an indemnification/ hold harmless agreement and your very own "special events checklist."

In reality, it's unlikely that back-yard picnics will require a permit. But what if you want to have 30 family members and friends gather in the nice covered area at the city park for a cookout? Are you going to need a couple million dollars of insur- ance, a health permit and six pages of paperwork turned in 30 days in advance? Who knows?

Actually, the proposed event permit process ap- pears to be aimed primarily at events sponsored by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. But the Chamber (whose director was Nysoe's wife Claudia, until she resigned last year) has been putting on special events - very successful ones - for many years, permit free. Dayton Days and the Columbia County Fair have been around for a century or more; no permits there either.

The city and county gov- ernments, along with local law enforcement and emer- gency services, have always been important partners in putting on these events. As far as I know, these groups have always worked well together. The Chamber, the fair board and the Dayton Days committee have insur- ance and make sure food vendors have proper creden- tials.

So it's puzzling why Mr. Nysoe thinks that suddenly, in 2013, a big new layer of bureaucracy is called for.

And what's going to hap- pen if the Chamber can't meet one of the requirements, like supplying a list of food vendors 30 days before an event. Is the city really going to shut down All Wheels Weekend?

Nysoe's insistence that the city be reimbursed for helping out at community events is also a concern.

Events like All Wheels Weekend and the county fair are put on by unpaid volun- teers who donate hundreds of hours of their time. If city road crew employees are required to work overtime to help with an event, they should be paid of course. But the city's road budget should reflect that need - if it needs to be upped, then up it.

I know the city's budget is tight, but the city is already a huge beneficiary of the economic boost these events produce. And providing ser- vice to the public is its job.

If all the government enti- ties affected by a community event - i.e. the Sheriff's Of- fice, fire and ambulance services, county government and, yes, the city - were to approach event organizers with their hands out, these events probably couldn't happen.

When newly appointed sheriff Rocky Miller was asked how, as a state trooper, he decides when to issue a traffic ticket, he said State Patrol policy is to take the least amount of action necessary to change behavior. Wouldn't that be a great approach for all government entities?

Perhaps, to help minimize risk, a certain amount of documentation to the city for large events is in order.

But instead of borrowing a heavy-handed 12-page document used by a city three times Dayton's size, and then not putting much more thought into it (like not bothering to define what constitutes an "event"), why not start with a blank slate? Determine what the problem is, and then take least amount of action needed to solve it.