Alright,

I'm gonna go ahead and call our pre-council to order on November 2nd, 2026, November 2nd, best day of the year.

We've got quite a few things on our pre-council before our regular meeting, so I'll try to keep us on time somewhat efficiently.

Our first step is our special event ordinance revision update, and so I think I'm kicking it over to convention and visitors bureau staff, Amy and Jew,

who

goes who wants to go.

Really, I'm just sitting here.

I'm going to let Julie Osmus, who's our assistant director, and Megan Gross, who's our event services specialist.

Um, they they are the ones that work with special events every day.

So I'm going to let them

present.

All right.

I'd also like to uh introduce members of our city special event

committee.

So

if you could just introduce yourself and your department.

Hi, I'm Erika Witzki with Parks and Recreation.

Crystal Smart Public Health and Human Services.

J.

Gray, Public Works.

Todd Guest, Finance Department.

Kyle

Hornsburg,

Sergeant McClung.

Aaron Decker, Billy Inside Development.

Damn Cross all the way.

Sorry,

like hidden ones in the back.

Okay.

Okay, so this is the overview of our presentation this evening.

So we'll talk about why special events are important, what is a special event, who's involved.

We'll briefly go through the review and approval process, and we'll tell you about some updates we've made over the past few years, and then tell you what's next, and then we'll open it up for questions.

So

why special events?

So special events uh create community engagement.

So they bring residents and visitors together to celebrate local arts, cultural, and traditions.

They promote tourism and create an economic impact for the city.

They build community pride and contribute to the quality of life here in Columbia.

So the goal of our special events committee is to support these special events while also being responsible, managing their impact on our neighborhoods and downtown businesses, uh, traffic and public safety.

So

what is a special event?

Essentially, it's a temporary gathering either on public or private property that creates a noticeable community footprint.

So that usually means it activates public spaces, it draws crowds, and many times requires coordinated city services.

So that's our festivals, outdoor concerts, uh sporting events, parades, 5Ks, 10K's, and our neighborhood block parties.

What qualifies as a special event?

Or do they who needs a special event permit?

So if an event is held on city property and they're requesting for or they're requesting a street to be closed or sidewalk or any public right of way, or the event requires city services, then likely a special event permit is needed.

Operation agreements are required for an event that's scheduled on the day before or the day of a Mizzou home football game, when our traffic, parking, and public safety resources are already operating at peak capacity, or whenever an event requests or requires city equipment, staffing or services outside our normal day-to-day business.

So the operations agreement really establishes like a clear expectation and operational boundaries well before the event date.

And here is a look at some of our uh special events.

Okay,

who's involved?

So our special event committee brings together representatives from all key departments, uh, and we meet on a monthly basis.

Uh, these meetings serve as our central coordination club.

Organizers come in to present their event logistics.

Our team reviews pending applications, previews, upcoming events, and schedules necessary, on-site inspections, or post-event wrap-ups.

These meetings also provide an opportunity to meet with our partners since we coordinate closely with the University of Missouri on some of their event permits when the campus activities spill onto city streets or require joint planning with MUED.

We also include our partners from the Office of Emergency Management along with the MU Healthcare and Boon Hospital Emergency Services, ensuring our first responders have knowledge of any street closures and traffic impacts to safeguard hospital access and response times.

This does also list out some of our uh special event committee members uh who may not have been able to attend today.

So, kind of what this process looks like.