EVANSTON — The Arts Inc. Board members Diane Sellers, Eric Passenelli and Andrew Passey attended the city council work session on Tuesday, Nov. 28, to request funding assistance for the nonprofit organization’s events.

Sellers addressed the council and gave a brief review of the history of The Arts Inc. and the events they sponsor for the community including; MAT (music, art and theater) Camp, Young Musicians, the Celtic Festival and the Bluegrass Festival.

“The Bluegrass Festival didn’t do very well in 2021, so we dropped it last year,” Sellers said, “We hope to pick it up again this coming year. Because of a lack of understanding on our part and a lack of follow through, we aren’t on the city’s budget this year. We are here asking for help from your discretionary fund for the Celtic Festival, which will be held the third weekend of March 2024.”

Sellers explained that the organization had lost its executive director and they have been struggling to pull everything together this past year. Though Passey is working on securing grants, she said it would be a real challenge not to have the funding the city has given in the past, which was approximately $3,000 for the Celtic Festival and a little over $5,000 for MAT Camp.

“We have decided not to hire a director, but have decided to have event managers,” Sellers said. “Shasta Wiggington Hopkin, who had been with Arts Inc. for many years, will be the manager for the Celtic Festival and Eric will assist her. Sara Maisey will be the event manager for the Young Musicians Festival and Pam Morgan will help her. We have an experienced teacher who has helped with MAT Camp for many years who will be that event manager. We hope you will help us as the Celtic Festival brings lots of economic benefit to the community.”

Passenelli said, even though he is no longer president of the board, he is staying on to assist with the event managers. He said that at its peak, MAT Camp brought 500 students to the community. He added that in 2025, PBS television will film the Celtic Festival as part of a show titled “Ireland with Michael,” a travel documentary from Ireland which will be filming Celtic festivals in the U.S. and Canada

The film is set to air in January 2026. Passenelli said this will be a great opportunity for Arts Inc. and for the community as it should bring even more people to Evanston for the event.

“The Celtic Festival is a huge draw for people from all over,” Passenelli said. “We have people come from Kansas, Utah, the east coast and from all over. It is the one event that makes us money and brings in an economic benefit for Evanston.”

Mayor Kent Williams asked Passenelli if they no longer have any paid staff and Passenelli responded that Arts Inc. no longer has paid day-to-day staff but will pay the event managers for their time.

“We have not appropriated anything in the budget for this year for the festival but we can review it and see if we can get creative,” Mayor Williams said. “We want to have people come to our community, so we’ll discuss it and see what we can do.”

Brad Hatch, business manager with Pioneer Counseling, then presented a proposal to the council for a fence at their property on 85 Park Rd., where residential housing is provided for Pioneer Counseling clients. Hatch explained that, when the renovation of Park Road took place, the entryway to Pioneer Counseling Services was moved to Bear River Drive. However, the old road, which is not paved, still runs in front of the property between their parking lot and the new landscaped area on Bear River Drive, which belongs to the city.

“The issues for us are there are no barriers on that old road and people use it as a drive-through to access Park Road from our facility and this creates a safety hazard for our residents who are walking in that area,” Hatch said. “Also, this area becomes hazardous in winter when snow accumulates there and it has been used by semis and other vehicles not associated with our business.”

Hatch said the counseling service would like to place a fence across the old road from their property line to the landscaped area to minimize the issues. They would install a chain link fence with sleeves for the post, so the fence could be moved in case of an emergency and they would put a gate in the fence.

The neighbors to the west of their property would still have access to their property from Bear River Drive. Hatch said fencing that road on the one end would allow the counseling service to use the area for overflow parking for their residents and as an area for moving plowed snow in the winter.

“We will clarify any possible access issues with the Uinta County Fire Department,” Hatch said.

Public Works Director Gordon Robinson said they needed to be aware that there is a storm drain and water line in the dirt road area.

Councilmember Evan Perkes told Hatch they need to let the neighbors know what the plans are so they don’t show up mad at the council meeting when it is being reviewed.

City Attorney Mark Harris told the council they could look at an encroachment agreement that would allow Pioneer Counseling to put up the fence and they needed to make sure about emergency access when the council considers the request at a regular meeting.

Hatch said they wouldn’t be putting the fence up until next spring but wanted to be prepared ahead of time.

Last on the agenda was Justin Dennis, owner of Impact Physical Therapy, who brought a proposal to share with the council.

“As you are aware, I own the property that lies between Ortega Court, Saddle Ridge Road and Southridge Road,” Dennis said. “I want to put up a steel building that will house my physical therapy business office and a turf field house on 2.5 acres of a 20-acre plot. The building will be similar to the one that Basecamp owns and will be painted tan with dark brown trim. It will house a 100 ft. by 60 ft. turf field sports complex.”

Dennis showed a slide presentation of his proposed site plan and how the plan meets city code for signage, height and landscaping requirements. He said they would plant 17 aspen and maple trees and approximately 20 shrubs. He said, the facility would need sidewalk access down Ortega Court and Saddle Ridge Road as there is none presently.

“I see this sports complex as a real benefit to youth sports,” Dennis said. “We have formed a nonprofit organization, ‘I Tri Sports,’ and are in the process of seeking grant funding. There are seven members on the board of directors. By Jan. 8, we hope to have all of the approvals with planning and zoning and the city completed so we can present it to the state for their approval. We hope to have the building completed by the end of July 2024.”

Dennis said the board envisions an extension to the field house at a later date and possibly even turf outside the building. He cited statistics on the benefits of sports to youth and the need for recreational facilities that are usable during the long winter months.

Evanston Senior Planner DuWayne Jacobsen reminded Dennis that they first need to go through the process of meeting with planning and zoning commission, meeting their recommendations, and then bringing the final plan to the city council at a regular meeting.

Councilmember Jen Hegeman expressed a concern with the amount of water that would be used for that many trees and shrubs. Dennis responded that perhaps they could use more native plants in their landscaping plans.

Mayor Williams asked Evanston Recreation Center director Kim Larson if she had any concerns with the proposal.

“I think we have the same goal to provide recreation opportunities for the community,” Larson said. “I don’t think what Dennis is proposing will interfere with any of our programs and, perhaps, we can even collaborate on programs. I always agree we need more places for kids to play.”

Williams told Dennis that the council would wait to hear back from him after he goes through the planning and zoning process.