Neither Mayor Dan Aussem nor the supporters of the Third Fridays art festival seemed to persuade each other at tonight’s Ottawa City Council meeting. Around 60 people filled City Hall to show and voice their support for keeping the event in the 200 block of W. Madison St. It’s scheduled for the third Friday of each month April through September.
Mayor Aussem and other city officials say they can’t close that block six times a year. There are one-way streets and parks where such events are allowed. But they don’t want it on a heavily traveled two-way street.
Many of the event’s supporters described personal connections. Business owners say their stores do good business on Third Friday event nights. Artists say they sell more of their works at those events than at others.
With six weeks until this year’s first event, organizer Amanda Weygand has that long to change some minds or implement a “plan B”. She doesn’t feel like she made progress changing minds.
For some people, tonight’s meeting provided a civics lesson: The issue wasn’t on the council’s agenda, so the council couldn’t vote on it. The mayor and commissioners, not the general public, put things on the agenda. And elected representatives are not obligated to the will of the people, but the people can choose other representatives from time to time. One man asked when the next election is. Mayor Aussem told him it’s in 13 months.
The Ottawa City Council’s audience is too big for the room.
Ottawa Police Chief Brent Roalson explains that Madison St. is a truck route and there are troubles associated with frequently closing it.