ROTHBURY — A public commenter and former Rothbury resident shared a petition with the village council at Tuesday's regular meeting calling for the Electric Forest festival's mass gathering permit with the village to be revoked until the festival agrees to allow local law enforcement to conduct drug searches at the annual event.
The petition, presented by Mike Lewis of Shelby, was one of a few public comments presented at a meeting more crowded than usual, the first one since a newborn baby was found dead in a portable bathroom facility during the festival last month. Village President Mike Harris read a brief prepared statement prior to the meeting, saying the council shared the public's desire for answers regarding the investigation into the death, but that since it remains ongoing, their commenting on it would be inappropriate at this time.
Lewis collected over 1,500 signatures and hundreds of comments via a website, RevokeElectricForest.com, and presented the petition to the council Tuesday. He shut down the website prior to Tuesday's meeting because, he said, it had served its purpose.
Lewis claimed in his comment that local law enforcement does not search for drugs at the festival under the terms of a contract with Electric Forest in which the police aids with traffic. Lewis said this provision is unlawful and creates liability for the village, and his petition demands the mass gathering permit be pulled until the festival concedes final authority on the matter of drug searches to law enforcement. He added that he does not want the festival to be shut down, but he and other petitioners demand more oversight for safety reasons.
Another commenter, Catherine Marcoux, claimed that Centurion Security Services, which provides services for Electric Forest, posted on a public forum after the festival opened asking for more personnel to work the event, which she said signaled security shortcomings and raised questions regarding a lack of vetting of security personnel. Like Lewis, she said she doesn't want to get rid of the festival but wants to see improvement in enforcement.
Paul Schroeder said he's done work with Electric Forest for years and the festival has improved in the matter of drug enforcement. He added his frustrations with members of the public airing grievances without knowledge of the issue and suggested those with questions contact the county sheriff's office and ask about it.
In regular village business, police chief Ethan Walker requested and was granted permission to post the village's oldest patrol car for auction once the car purchased earlier this year is ready for use and the old one is decommissioned. The process is identical to one followed when past cars were replaced.
The council approved the $1,399 purchase of a two-terabyte hard drive that will be based in the village hall. There will also be a cloud backup through an agreement with Synology Services, and council members will be able to access the cloud through their computers. Trustee Troy Voorhees said the purchase is a lower-cost option compared to other possibilities with low maintenance fees. Another $1,100 was allocated to purchase a new laptop for Voorhees' use after his recent appointment as planning commission chair.
Harris reported that Ted Kurdziel has been appointed to the planning commission, replacing Juan Cano. Kurdziel is the husband of council member Denise Kurdziel. Cano took Harris' seat on the village council after Harris was appointed president following Vern Talmadge's retirement.
