5.6. SR 10-25-1999
rll ---'\)
( );
1fl}{
Item #5.6.
River
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mayor & City Council
Pat Klaers, City Ad~tor
October 25,1999
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT: Emporium Update
Weekend activities at the Emporium continue to be popular and attendance when
bands are playing is increasing. However, with this increased attendance comes
"crowd control" type of issues that need to be appropriately managed.
.
Police, Administration, and Community Recreation staffs have met to discuss and
review issues at the Emporium. In order to address city (and parent) concerns
regarding activities at Emporium we are moving forward with the following:
· Improving the lighting at the Main Street entrance into Emporium
and along the parking lot curb at Emporium (the globe street lights).
· Early communication between Community Recreation and the Police
Department in order to assure that either reserves or officers are
available during music nights to patrol the parking lot to help enforce
the policy of no smoking on city property and the underage drinking
law.
· As Emporium is a "youth center" type of facility, we are limiting
attendance to ages 20 and under.
· Frequent patrol of the parking area by the on-site supervisors is
necessary in order to ensure that attendees are not infringing on Ron's
parking lot.
The staff meeting was held in part because of concerns about the mixing of young
adults and teenagers. Additionally, the age limit should result in almost all of the
attendees being from the school district area. Some older kids (young adults) from
outside our area have been attending the music/dance events. Michele Bergh held a
meeting with the Emporium youth group on Thursday evening (see attached
meeting summary). About 18 local teenagers participated and they felt that
restricting attendance to only residents of the school district was too strong of a step
to take at this time and that the age restrictions should address our concerns. The
.
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
.
.
.
group also wanted stronger enforcement for the problem individuals so that a few
don't ruin Emporium for everyone.
We did not establish Youthbound, which has grown into Emporium, for young
adults that have other social and entertainment options or for "alternative music"
supporters from outside the school district. This was not the intent and we need to
make sure that events are focused on the youth. Additionally, Emporium is more
than just weekend music/dance events. However, because of concerns over
activities at the most recent music night, the Halloween Friday and Saturday music
event has been canceled. In place of this weekend event will be a lower key, Friday
evening only event with a few local bands playing, and the music will end at 10 p.m.
It is a delicate balance between providing the kids with what they want and having
them take ownership in activities and a facility, and yet providing a safe and secure
venue for our teenagers. I think the above steps will keep us moving in the right
direction.
.
.
.
Emporium
Student Forum
October 21, 1999 Minutes
5-8:15pm
Attendance: 18 people in attendance between 9th grade and 21 years of age, Dan Fields, Rebecca Bryan,
Michele Bergh
Topics: Future Events and Policies at Emporium
Issues to Cover:
Ages coming to events - band members want older people there for exposure. They play because they
want people to find out about them and if they are only playing for local kids, this limits the exposure. They
preferred not to have to set restrictions on the ages but if they had to, they felt that 13-20 yrs was a fair
compromise. 20 year olds cannot go to bars and that was why they felt it was okay. Most of the people
coming to watch the bands are approximately 16 yrs of age. They also want parents and people in the
industry who are over 20 to be allowed and they were okay with setting this up in advance so we would
know.
Local vs. non-local young adults - the students did not want to limit it to locals. They felt that people
should be judged on their behavior, not on where they are from. They understood that someone who doesn't
live around here isn't as personally invested in Emporium as they are and, yet, they could cause problems
that would affect how the public viewed the facility. They still felt that people should be allowed to come to
Emporium as long as they agree to follow the policies. They also felt that the age limits would limit the
number of people we see coming from other communities. Most young people do not have their own cars to
get wherever they want; they rely on friends or their parents to give them a ride.
Problems that have occurred/Future Prevention/Consequences - they all felt that the problems
occurring would not go away. However, there were ways to limit the problems and deal with them if and
when they occur. The agreed upon ideas are:
. Big poster with rules by the counter and on the door as you come in.
. Band must announce the rules before they start playing - this means each band has to repeat the
rules.
. Bands should sign a "contract" that explains the policies and expectations before they are allowed to
play and if they break that "contract" they are not allowed to play any more and they must leave.
One person signing from a band is okay and they are responsible for making sure that everyone who
is a part of their group knows the rules. We will also hand other members the rules as they get their
wristbands.
. Problems that occur must be dealt with immediately and with the individual. There are no second
chances.
. Smelling or seeing alcohol is grounds for someone having to leave. You don't need to catch them
actually drinking it.
. Have a contest to design a standard flyer that will be used for all events. This would become the
official flyer and poster for Emporium. The only things that would change on the flyer would be
what the event is and when it takes place. Schools, etc. would be told that these are the only
.
.
.
approved promotional material for our events and anything else shouldn't be allowed. If unofficial
promotional material is distributed, the event will be cancelled or the group doing it will not be
allowed to play. We will supply whatever flyers they want and need for their own distribution.
Events they would like to see continue/start:
. Laser Tag
. Concerts
. DJ s/Dances
. Karaoke
. Cappuccino, etc. available at a counter for sale