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Updated 29 minutes ago
Before letting a traveling big top come to town this spring, Delmont officials have a few questions.
Council this week conditionally approved a two-day rental of the Shields Farm property by the Lewis & Clark Circus, which is based in South Carolina. The 5-1 approval, however, was contingent on several issues being addressed. Councilwoman Becky Matesevac voted no. Councilman Dave Weber was not present.
Borough Solicitor Amber Leechalk requested that circus officials put down a security deposit, agree to the borough's rental terms and file a certificate of insurance with the borough named among the insured.
Bill Heeps, head of the Public Works Department, said the requested May 8-9 dates come during a time when the Shields Farm property is generally a bit soggy.
“Depending on how many cars and how much stuff you have up there, it could turn things into a muddy mess,” Heeps said.
Police Chief T.J. Klobucar said he wants to discuss logistics with circus officials.
“I need to put an emergency plan together like we do for the Apples 'n' Arts festival and look at how many officers we'd want to have up there,” he said.
Council members also raised concerns about having someone direct cars where to park to keep things orderly as well as trash disposal and a proper number of portable toilets.
“They're looking at a Monday and a Tuesday night, which sounds to me like they're passing through on their way to somewhere else,” council President Andy Shissler said. “I don't think this will be as big as Apple ‘n' Arts. We're probably talking hundreds of people rather than thousands.”
The circus bills itself as family-friendly entertainment “under the big top” and is touring in Florida. It has upcoming dates in Georgia and Alabama.
The largest touring circus in the United States, Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey, recently announced that it would perform its last show in May, shutting down because of declining ticket sales.
Lewis & Clark owner Olena Reis said that unlike bigger circuses, they do not have high overhead costs nor large animals such as elephants.
“We have different audiences and play in much smaller towns than Ringling Brothers,” she said. “We have some animals but not elephants or big cats. That's what (animal-rights protesters) usually hunt for, so we almost never have any issues with activists.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which publishes fact sheets on organizations which use live animals, notes that Lewis & Clark Circus has been cited a number of times by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for various violations, including five since Reis and her husband bought the circus in 2013 from former owner Robert Childress.
Klobucar said he needs basic information from circus organizers.
“I don't have a problem with it,” he said. “But I'd need to meet with them and see what their plan is.”
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862 or pvarine@tribweb.com.
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