Townsend officials modified the city’s new special events ordinance Tuesday night, May 21, giving the option to waive the $100 application fee. The move comes after complaints that smaller nonprofits may not have the budget to pay the fee before their events.
Applicants can now argue their case before the city Board of Commissioners to demonstrate why they can’t afford the fee. Commissioners also extended the deadline to remove decorations and event structures.
The unanimous approval of Tuesday’s amendments comes as the most recent step in a history of public dissatisfaction at the number of special events occurring in town. Residents, who have spoken out at commission meetings for months, have complained that Townsend is becoming a festival town, comparing the city to nearby Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
Response
Key objections involve excessive noise and traffic disrupting the lives of residents as crowds of festival goers flock to the town dubbed “the peaceful side of the Smokies.” That peaceful side aesthetic, residents have said, is being threatened by special events boasting attendances in the tens of thousands.
The ordinance was the commissioners’ response, passed in December . It charges a fee for special event applications and requires each event to be approved by the commission. It also requires hosts to apply 90 days in advance and bans them from advertising their events until they have received approval.
The ordinance, city staff have said, allows commissioners greater control over which events are allowed in Townsend and when they happen. If two large events are planned on the same weekend, commissioners can decline one to avoid straining police and firefighters.
City officials have said more than two large events in a month is a burden on local first responders, who are tasked with coordinating safety and medical attention for events.
Commissioners approved applications for 12 special events Tuesday.
City manager
Townsend Mayor Don Prater also addressed what one resident called “the elephant in the room,” during the meeting’s public comment period Tuesday evening. City Manager Danny Williamson has been on administrative leave for weeks and absent from recent city meetings.
“It’s a personnel matter, so we’re looking into it,” Prater told guests Tuesday. “We want to make sure we preserve all the rights of the people that are involved, so we’re not offering any additional comment at this time.”
Statements obtained by The Daily Times indicate Williamson has been on leave since at least April 22, and city staff said in a statement that they had provided files on his employment to the Office of the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
The Daily Times requested files on Williamson’s employment from Townsend on April 23, and was told the files would be provided once “returned” by the Comptroller’s Office. City staff declined to answer a question clarifying whether the city currently possesses such files.
In response to a May 3 request for records of communications between city representatives and the Comptroller’s Office, city staff said they did not have “any responsive records.”
Williamson has not responded to a request for comment.
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