As part of its ongoing efforts to support the revitalization of Mitton Village, City Council has approved waiving the fees for the street closure for the Mitton Village Block Party.
The request was made by the Mitton Village Citizen Collective, the member-run, grassroots organizer of the annual event. Fees were waived last year, and the motion made by Council this year was to waive them for the rest of the term so that the collective does not need to come back and ask each year.
At the beginning of Council’s meeting, Councillor Chrissy McRoberts declared a conflict of interest as she owns a business in Mitton Village.
It was a unanimous vote with very little discussion, though councillors offered words of praise for the event and the organizers of the annual block party.
Councillor Bill Dennis remarked that the festival “gets bigger and better every single year and the one most recent, in the summer, was just fantastic. The turnout was fantastic, the people had a great time.”
Councillor Brian White said, “The citizens have really proven the strength of the community at the grassroots level.” Despite the success of the event, he says, “clipping its wings a little too early could be detrimental so I think we should continue to support it.”
According to city staff, the road closure fees for the Mitton Village Block Party would be in the range of $1,000 - $1,500 depending on the exact setup of the road closure plan.
Road closure fees are designed to recover costs related to administering and implementing the closure. The work involves reviewing and approving the road closure plans, and staff time to set up and take down the closures. Often closures, like this one, occur outside of regular work hours so overtime is incurred.
“This is a huge symbolic gesture of support towards the grassroots work being done in Mitton Village,” says Josh Walters, co-owner of Maud’s Variety, in regards to Council’s decision. He wonders why city fees have to be paid just to make use of an empty parking lot or parkette, especially if community volunteers are the ones doing work such as blocking off streets.
“We have tried to do more than just the block party events,” Walters says, “and we have always found those fees to be a significant obstacle to community events and allowing engaged citizens to activate their community spaces. So this is a big win in this regard.”