Flaming Gorge Days plans move forward

Plans for Flaming Gorge Days are moving forward, with several pieces coming together to make one whole event. 

During Tuesday night's meeting, the Green River City Council approved an agreement to work with Adelska, LLC for Flaming Gorge Days. The agreement is for the Colorado-based entertainment and event-planning company to oversee the concert aspect of the event. 

The council initially considered a contract with Adelska during the March 5 meeting. Some council members expressed concern about language in the contract, which was approved pending legal approval. City Administrator Reed Clevenger explained the desire to move forward with the contract quickly in order to be able to work with Adelska, which usually requires more time for planning. During the March 19 meeting, Clevenger gave an update to the council explaining that the language in the contract had been worked on, but after looking at the time availability again, Adelska gave the city a separate proposal to do less work on the event. 

The new contract was presented to the city council for approval during the April 2 meeting. Clevenger explained that the new plan was for Adelska to only handle the concert aspect of Flaming Gorge Days. 

"They said they would like to go in just focusing on the entertainment side based on the timing," Clevenger explained. 

Clevenger added that this lowered the dollar amount for the agreement with Adelska. The original contract was for a proposed cost of $26,625, while the new contract cost was $21,500.

The City Council voted on the new agreement with Adelska by a raise of hands. Council Members Gary Killpack, Ron Williams, and Robert Berg voted "no" to the agreement. Council members Pete Rust, Sherry Bushman, Mike Shutran and George Jost voted "yes," so the agreement was approved with a 4-3 vote. 

Clevenger explained that other aspects of Flaming Gorge Days will be handled by other groups.

The council unanimously approved an agreement with Alishae Blazich for the Flaming Gorge Days Vendor Fair. The city agreed to pay Blazich $2,500 to oversee and run the Vendor Fair. Fees paid by vendors will be paid to the city, according to the contract. 

Clevenger also added that the Flaming Gorge Days parade will be put on by the city, specifically working with the Parks and Recreations Department and Communications and Marketing. 

Councilmember Williams asked about events like the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, expressing his belief that Flaming Gorge Days could be a failure without it or similar events. Clevenger responded that some plans will depend on what sponsors are available, but he noted that he's already had people reach out about wanting to help. He said Flaming Gorge Days will need the community's support in order to "bring back the event that we want to have."

Currently, Flaming Gorge Days is scheduled to take place June 28 and 29.