City Council Approves Mystery Concert at Spring Creek Marina

SAN ANGELO. TX – After a long and contentious discussion, the San Angelo City Council approved an amendment that will allow Spring Creek Marina and RV Park to host a concert during Easter Weekend. The question is who will play at the mystery concert?

At the City Council meeting held on February 18, the members were tasked with voting to approve the “Live 80” concert that would feature live music during one of the busiest times of the year at Lake Nasworthy. The event, which is supposed to feature rock and pop music from the ’80s, is scheduled from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 11.

The meeting began with the comments and concerns put forward by Councilman Tommy Hiebert. Hiebert represents District 1, where the event will be held. He began by reading from an email he had received after sound tests were done in December of 2018 in that area.

“Without exception, loud music was audible even with the windows up and car running,” read Hiebert.

With that statement, Councilman Hiebert began detailing the multiple issues he had with the proposed event. The main problem, based on how much it was discussed, appeared to be the time that the concert was scheduled to conclude. Hiebert expressed his concern that ending the concert so late on a Saturday evening would disturb the residents of his district.

“We don’t know when people go to bed,” said Hiebert. 
 

Hiebert strongly pushed the possibility to end the show earlier than the 10:00 p.m. hard stop that was proposed on the special event application. According to him, he thought 9:00 p.m. was late enough, but that he would prefer a hard stop at 8:00 p.m.

“This conflicts me,” said Hiebert of ending at the proposed time. [It] goes against everything within my body,”

The conversation with the organizer Ray Broadway revealed why organizers considered that 10:00 p.m. would be an appropriate time to end the concert. The city currently has a noise curfew of 10:30 p.m., so ending the concert at 10:00 would allow the event to end by the time the curfew went into effect. Hiebert told Mr. Broadway he was sure he would be “getting some calls [from his constituents]” over the issue.

The council member also expressed worry about the safety of attendees and the ability of the organizer to keep the event planned and secure. 

“My concerns are going to be the public’s safety and the citizens out there,” said Hiebert.

SAPD Assistant Chief Fincher explained that from the law enforcement perspective they could manage the security of the event by combining several SAPD officers with private security, as had been done at last year’s boat races. Mr. Broadway would be covering the fees and the cost of the security needed for the concert.

The rest of the council did not seem to be particularly worried about the time the show was supposed to end but were conscious of the fact that Hiebert was representing his district’s interests.

“We have got to figure out a way we can get entertainment at the lake,” said Councilman Harry Thomas.

“I would want to support the event,” said Council member Lucy Gonzales. “I don’t think 10 o’clock is not horrible – not too early, not too late.”

Council member Lane Carter provided an example of elevated noise levels that occasionally occur in District 5. During football season, his district, which is home to the San Angelo Stadium, often has fireworks going off past 10:00 p.m. While they may cause an occasional disturbance, it isn’t a major issue.

Council member Lane Carter said; “The time frame, I am not too worried about it. We all have certain events in our district that will conflict with the noise ordinance at some point.”
 

Council member Billy DeWitt brought up a point that not been discussed when proposing to end the concert earlier in the evening.

“If the [noise] ordinance says 10:30 right now and if we force Mr. Broadway to stop at 9, what’s to prevent some of the people that attend this [event from] going over to the park and turning loud music,” said Billy DeWitt.

As a final point, Council member Hiebert made a point of telling Mr. Broadway that he should not take the approval of this special event as a guarantee the council will approve another concert later on.

The motion passed unanimously with the city council, but the mystery remains. After nearly 40 minutes of discussion, no real details have surfaced regarding the musicians that will play or the cost to attend. San Angelo Live made multiple attempts to contact Mr. Broadway to learn more details, but he was not available during the times the calls were placed.

The concert is expected to draw in nearly 3,000 people and it has the potential to become the model for future events if it is successful.

The variance was approved once again at the first March city council meeting and the members voted to approve it with the addition of the stipulations that were added at the February 18 meeting. These included insuring there is no amplified noise past the 10:00 p.m. hard stop, allowing SAPD to terminate the event at their discretion to maintain public safety, having adequate restroom facilities, and paying for security.