On Tuesday, the Madison County Board of Supervisors rejected a request to permit a major event for Overdrive Monster Trucks that was to be held Saturday at the Young Farmers’ Fairgrounds. Ads for the event appeared on social media about a month ago and more than 700 tickets have been sold, but an application to host the event was not submitted until last week.

Several years ago, county officials passed an ordinance for large outdoor events. The ordinance, which was passed after a large motocross event was held without the knowledge of emergency services, requires that a permit be submitted and approved for any event with more than 300 attendees. Permits for events with more than 750 expected attendees must be approved by the board. Applications must be submitted at least 45 days before the event.

The main reason for the permitting process is to ensure that the county’s emergency services are ready to respond in the event of a problem.

According to the application submitted by Overdrive, the monster truck event was scheduled to take place in two time slots on Saturday, August 31, and expected 2,000 attendees. Overdrive hosts similar events across the United States. The events include meet-and-greets with drivers, monster truck rides and “over two hours of intense monster truck action.” The permit application was received on August 20 after the event organizer was contacted by the county.

“We’ve seen ads online and received calls,” said Jonathon Weakley, the county administrator. He said county staff contacted the event organizer and made him aware of the need for the permit. “The county ordinance requires 45 days and a certificate of liability insurance. It’s primarily for emergency service planning.”

Weakley said the application was not received 45 days before the event and, more importantly, the wrong insurance certificate was included. He said the event organizer was confident this could be corrected by Thursday, two days before the event.

A bigger issue is the date of the event – the same day as the annual Taste of the Mountains Main Street Festival. Weakley said emergency responders couldn’t provide their own units for the event because they already cover the street festival, and felt uncomfortable signing the permit.

“Because we do not have enough information, staff recommends denial. However, we are asking the event organizer to reschedule and release tickets for a new date when we have complete application materials,” Weakley said during Tuesday’s board meeting.

“This is just a bad deal,” said Clay Jackson, chairman of the board. “They’ve already sold 700 tickets. We’ve been trying to communicate with them for three weeks.”

Jackson said the Young Farmers, who would lease the fairgrounds to the organizer, hoped for board approval and were convinced the event would be a great benefit to the county.

“We have never rejected any of these applications,” he said. “The Young Farmers understand the situation we are in. It is not good that not all authorities agree. It is really unfortunate.”

Supervisor Jim Jewett said the board’s first responsibility is to the county and that potential liability should be a concern.

“I don’t know why they put it on this day,” he said. “I don’t know how we can approve this.”

Jackson said the Young Farmers do great work for the community, but that the board could not make a responsible decision without the necessary liability insurance certificate and emergency services approval.

“This is kind of a bummer,” he said. “We’ve never denied an event.”

Supervisor Carty Yowell said he could not imagine a situation in which approval could be made contingent on receipt of the insurance certificate.

“I don’t know how we can allow this,” he said. “For a customer to spend $15 to $20 on a ticket is nothing compared to the liability that all citizens of the county have to bear.”

Yowell made a motion to deny the permit, which was passed unanimously.

Gideon Bernard of Overdrive Monster Trucks said he has been in close communication with the board. He said when the permit was denied on Tuesday, plans to move the event were already underway.

“The event permit was denied on technical grounds,” he said. “When it happened, there were already plans to reschedule, so I did not submit the insurance certificate because it was not needed for that date.”

Overdrive Monster Trucks announced on social media Thursday morning that the event has been postponed until next month. All tickets sold will remain valid for the new date.

“Due to the impending weather conditions looming throughout the weekend and the festival taking place next door, we, along with the Madison County Fairgrounds and the County of Madison, have unfortunately concluded that it is best and safest for everyone involved to postpone the event until September 28th,” Overdrive wrote.

For more information visit overdrivemonstertrucks.com.