County News
Under fire
Outdoor concert venue creates uneasy feelings in Cherry Valley
Greg Verner of Millpond Music is from the County. He grew up here. He promotes concerts that he thinks will be good for the County and its residents. It’s great if tourists come to the shows, but he promotes shows for the locals. Small-town community festivals like the Prince Edward County Jamboree and ’50s and ’60s Rock’n’Roll Music Festival. Last year Verner and Millpond Music brought David Wilcox to the Essroc Arena. But recently Verner has received bad press and has been at the centre of the County rumour mill over his application for a 5,000 person venue on the grounds where he hosted his concert last year. The worst part of it is that Verner is now among a long line of people who have received negative press for actions that were the recommendations of County employees.
When Verner went to send in his Special Event Permit for his concert with April Wine event on June 30, he was staggered by the cost of the permit, which was close to $4,000. When Verner and farm owner David Raistrick went to the County’s planning department, it was revealed that the price of rezoning the property was the same cost as one yearly permit. The rezoning would negate the need for any other Special Event Permits, thereby saving thousands of dollars in future fees. Verner took the recommendations of the planner and applied for his rezoning. That’s when all hell broke loose.
Community watch groups and other County residents found Verner’s application and without even contacting him to see what it was about, started a petition. The negative comments started flying from all around the County. Verner was accused of not being from the County, that his intentions were to bring a Boots and Hearts type festival that would be way too big for the County to handle. Where would all the people stay? Park? What is this guy thinking?
Entertainer Buddy Love performs at the 50s and 60s Rock and Roll Festival held last summer in Cherry Valley.
The reality is that Verner has never wanted to expand what he is doing. For the past four years his festivals have never been an issue. He has never received a complaint. Verner keeps his capacity at 1,500 people for all of his outdoor shows and puts a self-imposed curfew on his concerts of 10:45 p.m. because he is a resident of this County, and wants to make sure that he is respecting his neighbours.
“I have no intention of promoting concerts that are not conducive to the community. I know the demographic here very well. I run concerts that I think my friends in the County would want to see. This whole situation has crushed me. I am completely devastated that people from where I live would start a petition and say nasty things without getting the full story.”
Verner could also very easily take his concerts to indoor venues, like his Wilcox concert at the Essroc, but his passion lies in promoting outdoor festivals. The beauty of this region combined with a well curated music festival, for him, evokes memories of concerts he attended in the County when he was growing up.
“There’s nothing better than an outdoor music festival. The vibe is contagious, and everyone feels like they are a part of something special,” says Verner.
On May 16, Verner made his deputation to the County at the planning meeting to a packed house. It was so full, in fact, that people were lined up out of the door and down the stairs. Both meetings rooms, where the council meeting could be watched as a live stream, were full as well. Verner and farm-owner David Raistrick were very clear with their intentions. Raistrick started by stating that his farm will never be a concert venue, and that his property is still a working farm. He went on to state that this has been a horrible misunderstanding and that the re-zoning was only for a tiny portion of the property and the use of the rezoning was to be for community driven events only. Verner followed by clarifying the misunderstanding of the rezoning and reinforcing the role that his events play in the community.
“We have no intentions of being bigger than anything we currently are. Our events bring much needed economic monies to the area, and any events we put on are funded on our own dime. My sincere apologies to my community and my neighbours. I thought that I was following all of the guidelines put forth by the County,” says Verner.
Verner went on to insist that this was never a malicious act and will never be one. Verner and Millpond Music have raised over $300,000 in fundraising through their musical events. The June 30 concert with April Wine is scheduled and will go ahead as planned, the only fear for Verner and Millpond is that the damage has already been done to their reputation and their status in the community.
“Ultimately, I’m happy that it’s going forward. but it’s disheartening to know that it might be tricky to move forward with our concerts in the County.”
So what if the permit costs $4000? That’s the cost of doing business and a lot cheaper than what many retail owners pay for rent and utilities. And if they have raised so much for fundraising, then we’re not talking small amounts here. Planing opened a whole can of worms when they were trying to do a favour to help save Verner money. The land was once an organic farm with plans of very small scale events related to agri-tourism.
Most in Cherry Valley applaud entrepreneurship, but this is too big and might be better in Wellington arena or Belleville. It does not address the huge traffic issue and traffic noise that is already problematic. Even a ‘reduced’ 1500 person event is another 500-1000 cars and trucks through our little community.
What about Council standing up to “the greater good” of the community instead of helping just two ambitious individuals?
Yes, the rezoning would have negated the need for any other Special Event Permits, saving thousands of dollars in future fees but it included the possibility of an unlimited number of events with the potential for 5000 people, 1200 cars etc…- permanently! Since in was a rezoning application only people within a few hundred yards of the property were notified, and then only days before it was to come before Council. Clearly the County’s requirements for communicating major land use changes need to be revised so the community as a whole is aware of what might be coming. It is NOT up to the community to track down the applicant to find out what is going on.
The applicants have stated they never had any intention of holding large-scale events the rezoning would allow. In that case they should have insisted the Planning Department alter what was apparently proforma wording in the rezoning application to reflect their intentions instead of signing it and proceeding with it as is.
Fortunately this has been resolved and the community can enjoy events similar to those held successfully in previous years.