Organizers work to change concert policy

Organizers of a West Texas Cinco de Mayo event want to give attendees an extra hour to fiesta.

Held as an outdoor event the Ector County Coliseum during the weekend of Cinco de Mayo, Fiesta West Texas Organizer Richard Esparza said he wants the coliseum’s policy stating outdoor concerts must end at 11 p.m. to change back to midnight; a move that was made three years ago. Anyone who breaks the policy must pay a $5,000 fine.

“No coliseum in the state has a policy like this,” Esparza said.

The Fiesta West Texas website has a link for residents who wish to sign a petition to show their support for an extended musical deadline. As of Monday, Esparza said he had about 300 signatures.

“We’re hoping to get between 500 and 1,000 (by Monday)” he said.

The policy was introduced in 2009 after, Ector County Judge Susan Redford said, several noise complaints were made by residents in both the city limits and out in the county about the noise coming from the festival. Redford also said the music carries further out when the wind is heavy during the festival.

Since the inception of the policy, Redford said the noise complaints have dropped.

“Each year we receive complaints, but not (to) the extreme we’ve seen before,” she said.

Numbers for the amount of complaints received from both the Odessa Police Department and the Ector County Sheriff’s Office for the event during 2009 and 2011 were not readily available Tuesday.

Redford said she and Precinct 1 Commissioner Freddie Gardner have met with Esparza and the item will be on Monday’s scheduled commissioners meeting agenda.

Esparza said while he understands why the policy was put in place; he does not agree with it, saying the event brings in vendors, tourists and their money from around the state.

In a note to residents of Ector County on the Fiesta West Texas website, Esparza states the 2011 event brought in an estimated $1,293,300 to the community. Linda Sweatt, director of convention and visitors bureau with the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, verified the number, but said it was only an estimate.

Ector County Coliseum Director Don Thorn said the policy is fine how it stands and the coliseum isn’t trying to shut the event down at 11 p.m., but trying to keep the noise level down for residents. Thorn also said organizers have the option of moving the event inside the coliseum if they want to keep bands playing until midnight.

“This is an issue of outdoor amplification of music,” he said.

To reduce the amount of noise, Esparza said smaller sound systems have been brought in for musicians. He said moving the event indoors will take business away from the vendors. By working to find more ways to reduce noise, Esparza said he hopes both sides can find a way to reach an agreeable compromise.

“I feel now that we’ve done our part to get the sound down, we would like the coliseum to give us the hour,” he said.

@OAgovernment