Group talks progress on amphitheater concerns – The Reflector

Concerns over the operation of the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater were addressed again by neighborhood individuals and county representatives as the local neighborhood association tries to bring more accountability to the way the venue operates.

The Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association sat down with officials from the county July 13 to discuss progress made regarding the operations of the amphitheater. Although the property is owned by the county, an independent group runs the day-to-day operations.

The neighborhood association has been focused on the amphitheaters operations for about a year, spearheaded by association president Bridget Schwarz. Chief concerns include noise and traffic issues, as both have caused headaches for residents due to perceived improper management at the hands of the venues runners.

Clark County Traffic Engineering and Operations Section Supervisor Matt Griswold admitted that the role of dealing with the amphitheater was something neglected previous to the raising of the recent complaints.

We thought everything was going fine. We hadnt heard any complaints or anything until last July or August, Griswold said.

After being contacted by Schwarz, the issues started to show themselves, specifically regarding traffic signals in the vicinity.

Much like the county, the state Department of Transportation had not been monitoring the situation, Griswold explained, adding that it was discovered that something was, in fact, awry with the traffic signal setup.

Since that discovery, the WSDOT has fixed the signal issues, Griswold said. He added that the county had met with amphitheater operators a few times this year, going over the traffic plan for the then-upcoming Train concert.

The traffic plan is not something set in concrete, its sort of fluid thing because its always changing depending on the size of the crowd, Griswold explained. He made mention of the change in background traffic since the venue started more than a decade ago as well as more recent developments like the extension of 10th Avenue as some of those variables.

Clark County Neighborhood Relations Coordinator Marilee McCall said since the previous June meeting she has spent the majority of time gathering what was available that Schwarz had requested. Schwarz said her three huge questions about noise, traffic and possible changes in the traffic management plan were at that point being addressed by McCall but not necessarily complete.

We still dont have all the information, but were making some progress, Schwarz said.

Actual imposition of fines for non-compliance was another issue, as Schwarz and other association members had mentioned that they were not aware of any time the county actually fined the amphitheater. McCall said there was one instance when the venue was fined $1,000 in 2004 for a concert that ran too late in the night.

Through McCalls data mining, she uncovered a previous record of complaints, much the same as is current, including a point-by-point plan the county drafted to deal with said issues.

As to why there had been relative silence regarding the amphitheater, Griswold said it was likely due to turnover at the county. An individual who had once been the liaison with the venue had left and nobody replaced the role, he reasoned.

Now that the county is aware of the issue and appears to be actively doing something about it, progress can be made, though Griswold said whatever happened would not be a solution to every problem.

We all know that its never going to be perfect. At the night of an event you are not going to come down 179th Street and not be delayed for some time. Griswold said. When you are going to bring four or five thousand people, or 10,000 people depending on the size of the event, into one spot and one interchange, its going to back things up.

Following the associations break from a formal meeting in August, Schwarz said that at either the September or October meeting, representatives from the venue could be present.

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Group talks progress on amphitheater concerns - The Reflector