By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Mona City Council members are definitely opposed to having a concert near Mona on July 11 and 12.
Jeremy Franklin and Jason Young met with Juab County Commissioners nearly two weeks ago to request that they be granted a mass gathering permit.
The men were given some homework before the commission would agree to the permit. In part, they are to have detailed plans in place and have made some concrete contacts with people who will perform duties such as crowd control at the proposed event.
"That is during the Ute Stampede, when we already have lots of people in the area and law enforcement is spread thin," said Jonathan Jones, council member.
Greg Newton, mayor, said he had been invited to meet with the county sheriff and the county commission to discuss the request from the two men for a mass gathering permit.
Newton said that the fire chief also objected to having anywhere from 800 to 3,000 people gather at a concert in the dry conditions that have already pointed to a difficult wildfire year.
Commissioners had directed that Franklin and Young talk to the Mona City Council and tell them of their plans before returning to the commission for the permit.
"They didn't call to be put on the agenda," said Newton.
Newton said he had worked for one of the largest security companies in the nation when the power plant needed that service. He was not impressed, therefore, with the proposal for the concert promoters to have certified security on-scene at the concert.
"All private security can do is kick the law breakers off the property," Newton said.
That would mean that the drunk and disorderly clientele of the concert would not be arrested but would be trespassed from the property. They would then be loose to travel Mona's streets and endanger the residents who might just be coming home from the Stampede.
They may even end up at Burraston Ponds a popular fishing spot near the city.
Newton did say that, if the mass gathering permit was allowed, then he had the word of Doug Anderson, county sheriff, that he would elicit the help of the UHP who would be there to help Mona.
Jeff Smith, council member, said he was concerned about the drunk driving. He did not want a lot of drunks on the roadways being used by the citizens of Mona.
There were children along those streets and kids riding ATVs along the sides of the roads.
"The minute the article came out in the newspaper, the townspeople started calling me," said Newton. "They were worried."
The only way to get to the property, owned by Dana Young, and located between the mink farm and the power plant, would be to use the streets of Mona. They would have to leave the freeway and travel through city streets to get to the site.
Smith said he had concerns because this was the same group who had wanted to meet in Provo last summer.
They actually ended up in Provo Canyon where they held a concert.
The pair proposed to the county commission that they would like to have a concert featuring performing artists who will put on a concert with a lot of electro music. That presents another concern for Mona residents.
"There are several residents who have called me and are concerned about the noise," said Newton.
Judging from those who had called him, the general population of the city did not favor having the summertime concert near the city.
