http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103250375
Published March 25, 2010 in the Rutland Herald
Neighbors protest bluegrass festival
By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER
SPRINGFIELD – Plans by two Rockingham men to put on a bluegrass festival on a remote hilltop in Springfield ran into a roomful of blues Monday.
J&J Promotions and Productions wants to put on "Barnaby's Bluegrass Blowout" on Fox Chair Mountain Road, but town officials told the promoters they needed to get town permits from the Development Review Board, and they doubted there was enough time before the advertised weekend in late May.
Bill Kearns, the town's zoning officer, said the project was really proposed for the wrong place, since it has limited access and is served only by a couple of narrow, one-lane dirt roads. Josh Hearne, one of the two partners in J&J, said he hoped for between 500 and1,000 bluegrass fans.
Hearne said he and his partner had put on two concerts in Rockingham last year with a minimum of problems. He said that all he had to do was get a one-time permit for $100 from the Rockingham Select Board, and he seemed taken aback by the Springfield requirements.
A roomful of neighbors to the proposed concert site attended Monday night's meeting, and it was clear that while they might be music fans, they weren't in favor of a late May concert in their neighborhood.
Several townspeople said they would love to attend a bluegrass festival, but at a better location, with one person suggesting the Hartness State Airport.
Kearns told Hearne and his attorney, Eric Velto of the Massucco Law Offices in Bellows Falls, that they needed a letter from the Agency of Natural Resources to use the proposed parking area, since it included a state-designated wetland. Kearns also said that the Development Review Board needed a detailed plan, dealing with parking, trash, waste, noise and other considerations.
Kearns said he didn't believe there was enough time for J&J to draw up a formal plan, submit it to him, and have it advertised in time for an April hearing before the Development Review Board. The permit doesn't go into effect for 30 days, and Hearne has planned the concert for the weekend of May 21-23.
"The location just won't work," said neighbor Philip Carpenter.
Kearns said he believed his job was to bring business to town, but he said there was a process in place and the promoters never asked about the town's regulations. While they met briefly with the police and fire chiefs back in January, they promised plans but never returned with anything in writing, Kearns said.
"We do have a process, but no one ever asked about the process," he said.
Hearne, who is the manager of PK's Pub in Bellows Falls, said that the two concert and camping weekends he put on last year in Rockingham were great successes, attracting about 250 people.
One concert was at the Jarras Farm, the former Divoll Farm, in Rockingham town, and the other was on Cambridgeport Road, he said.
"We're a little surprised at the opposition," he said after the meeting.
He said he chose the Springfield location because it was a nice, natural amphitheater with "nice, rolling hills."
"We want to breathe some life into the area," he said, adding that he and his partner Jason Fischer, also of Rockingham, were looking to do some music shows at the Bellows Falls Opera House.
"We're not into rap or heavy metal, this is a lot of bluegrass and acoustic stuff," he said.
Neighbors were concerned about crowds and noise, and complained they had not been notified about any proposal.
In Rockingham, Zoning Officer Ellen Howard said that the concert organizers dealt directly with the town manager and paid a $100 permit fee for a one-time event on private property.
"I never heard anything negative" about them, she said.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100325/NEWS02/3250375/1003/NEWS02
Neighbors protest bluegrass festival
By SUSAN SMALLHEER STAFF WRITER
SPRINGFIELD – Plans by two Rockingham men to put on a bluegrass festival on a remote hilltop in Springfield ran into a roomful of blues Monday.
J&J Promotions and Productions wants to put on "Barnaby's Bluegrass Blowout" on Fox Chair Mountain Road, but town officials told the promoters they needed to get town permits from the Development Review Board, and they doubted there was enough time before the advertised weekend in late May.
Bill Kearns, the town's zoning officer, said the project was really proposed for the wrong place, since it has limited access and is served only by a couple of narrow, one-lane dirt roads. Josh Hearne, one of the two partners in J&J, said he hoped for between 500 and1,000 bluegrass fans.
Hearne said he and his partner had put on two concerts in Rockingham last year with a minimum of problems. He said that all he had to do was get a one-time permit for $100 from the Rockingham Select Board, and he seemed taken aback by the Springfield requirements.
A roomful of neighbors to the proposed concert site attended Monday night's meeting, and it was clear that while they might be music fans, they weren't in favor of a late May concert in their neighborhood.
Several townspeople said they would love to attend a bluegrass festival, but at a better location, with one person suggesting the Hartness State Airport.
Kearns told Hearne and his attorney, Eric Velto of the Massucco Law Offices in Bellows Falls, that they needed a letter from the Agency of Natural Resources to use the proposed parking area, since it included a state-designated wetland. Kearns also said that the Development Review Board needed a detailed plan, dealing with parking, trash, waste, noise and other considerations.
Kearns said he didn't believe there was enough time for J&J to draw up a formal plan, submit it to him, and have it advertised in time for an April hearing before the Development Review Board. The permit doesn't go into effect for 30 days, and Hearne has planned the concert for the weekend of May 21-23.
"The location just won't work," said neighbor Philip Carpenter.
Kearns said he believed his job was to bring business to town, but he said there was a process in place and the promoters never asked about the town's regulations. While they met briefly with the police and fire chiefs back in January, they promised plans but never returned with anything in writing, Kearns said.
"We do have a process, but no one ever asked about the process," he said.
Hearne, who is the manager of PK's Pub in Bellows Falls, said that the two concert and camping weekends he put on last year in Rockingham were great successes, attracting about 250 people.
One concert was at the Jarras Farm, the former Divoll Farm, in Rockingham town, and the other was on Cambridgeport Road, he said.
"We're a little surprised at the opposition," he said after the meeting.
He said he chose the Springfield location because it was a nice, natural amphitheater with "nice, rolling hills."
"We want to breathe some life into the area," he said, adding that he and his partner Jason Fischer, also of Rockingham, were looking to do some music shows at the Bellows Falls Opera House.
"We're not into rap or heavy metal, this is a lot of bluegrass and acoustic stuff," he said.
Neighbors were concerned about crowds and noise, and complained they had not been notified about any proposal.
In Rockingham, Zoning Officer Ellen Howard said that the concert organizers dealt directly with the town manager and paid a $100 permit fee for a one-time event on private property.
"I never heard anything negative" about them, she said.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100325/NEWS02/3250375/1003/NEWS02
I am also a "neighbor"....and rather than protest, I had invited several out of town families to attend the event. Our family travels every year to attend a much bigger bluegrass festival in a rural town in NY. That community benefits every year from the through traffic created by the festival. I know we spend plenty at local stores when we are there. I'm sure Springfield businesses would have appreciated the revenue bringing people through our town would have created. I know the three families we invited would have been spending money around town.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand my fellow neighbors concerns, I wish they could have given this a chance. The event would have required no building or permanent changes....just a little traffic (and some good music). With more empty storefronts in downtown Springfield than full....I was happy to see something like this planned. Not to mention that I thought J&J was going out of their way to offer accommodations to the neighbors so that they inconvenienced as little as possible. They had offered to put us up in an inn for the night or to have added security on our property if we wanted.
Thanks to J&J productions for TRYING to give us an opportunity like this....Im sure other towns would be happy to reap the benefits.
What a loss on Springfield's part! We need to come together as a community and rub our eyes a little to improve our vision. I sincerely hope that J&J doesn't have such a bad taste in their mouths that they wouldn't consider trying this again in Springfield ~ what about the fairgroundso where they used to have the Ag Fair?
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