JEFFERSONVILLE — Revisions to how the city of Jeffersonville handles and hosts special events continued to be discussed at Wednesday’s Board of Public Works meeting.

Corporation Counsel Tom Lowe followed up on a brief presentation he offered at the previous board of public works meeting about updating the city’s policy for hosting special events.

“One of the concerns has been that we have a little more advanced notice on special events,” Lowe said.

To help update the city’s policy, Lowe said he has been reviewing Louisville’s application and its requirements, along with fees the city charges.

“I would say the reason we’re getting a lot more events is not because Louisville charges an application fee ... it’s all the other fees they add in after the fact,” Lowe said.

He explained Louisville charges permitting fees for electricity and to rent blockades. He added Jeffersonville needs to gather manpower costs and how much the events actually cost the city versus the benefits it receives for hosting various events.

“I think it’s great that we’re getting a lot more events, but any time you do that there has to be some sort of cost-benefit analysis,” Lowe said.

Mayor Mike Moore said hosting special events is more of a funding issue for the city and he would like to see the Jeffersonville City Council designate funds at the beginning of the year to be able to pay for the special events hosted throughout the year.

Lisa Gill, board of public works member and city councilwoman, said she will bring up the request at an upcoming city council finance committee meeting. She also requested detailed cost sheets from the street, police and fire departments.

Moore added that even if the city decided to add an application fee, it would still not be covering its costs.

Street Commissioner David Hosea said the bigger concern for the city, especially the street department, is advanced notice and he said there needs to be a time limit on the requests for street closures.



National night out closures

Organizers for National Night Out events in Jeffersonville requested a host of street closures for Aug. 7.

Among the street closures requested and approved were: Cypress Drive at Hemlock Road in Oak Park; Haley Lane in Fields of Lancassange; Island Court in Hidden Lakes; Birchbark Lane at the intersection of Flintlock Drive in Clark Dell Estates; 500 block of Mockingbird Drive in the Wildwood Subdivision; High Street at Port Fulton Park; and Crystal Springs Boulevard in Crystal Lake Subdivision.



Bridge closure approved

The board of public works approved closing the Clark Memorial Bridge from 7 a.m. to noon Sept. 8 for a 5K run. The run benefits prostate cancer awareness and the approval granted was contingent upon Louisville approving the closure and the lanes on the Interstate 65 Kennedy Bridge being reopened by that date.



Sustainability event

Space was requested at Quartermaster Court in front of the Jeffersonville City Hall building for a Holistic Healthy Lifestyle Fair planned for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 8. The event is designed to promote sustainability initiatives and a healthy lifestyle. The board approved the use of space outside the city hall building, but would not allow use of the city council chambers as requested. The approval was contingent upon the city attorneys review of a detailed plan for the event.

RiverStage hosting wedding

An approval was granted for the closure of Riverside Drive from Pearl to Spring Streets from 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 29 for a wedding being hosted on the Jeffersonville RiverStage.