Published: December 19, 2007 02:17 am      

LOCKPORT: Council ready to OK concert pact

The Common Council is set to give Mayor Michael Tucker the OK tonight to sign a contract with Canal Concert Series Inc. for a series of summer concerts at Ulrich City Centre.

Canal Concert Series announced last week it plans to bring its annual eight-show series to Lockport from North Tonawanda. Relocation was facilitated by Tucker and City Centre developer David Ulrich.

The free outdoor shows, by a mix of classic rock and contemporary musicians, are expected to bring thousands downtown on Friday nights.

The three-year host agreement commits the City of Lockport to covering certain costs and providing certain services at each concert. According to Tucker, these include:

n Paying the cost of stage rental and a stage manager, estimated at $7,975 per show or roughly $64,000 a year. Tucker said the money, which was not budgeted in 2008, may end up coming from city bed tax proceeds. While Niagara Tourism & Convention Corp. has claimed the lion’s share, $64,000 a year, to help promote the city, Tucker said the city has been collecting closer to $90,000.

n Hiring of four police officers to staff tents and walk the concert area. Off-duty Lockport Police officers will be used, Tucker said. They will be paid four hours of overtime each. Traffic policing could come from Niagara County auxiliary police, and Tucker said he plans to ask the sheriff’s department and state police for extra car coverage in the area on concert nights.

n Stationing of an ambulance at City Centre. Already on-duty Lockport firefighters will staff it, Tucker said.

n Naming of the series as additionally insured under the city’s insurance policy. Naming the series will not cost the city any extra on its premium, Tucker said.

Canal Concert Series is supposed to book and pay the musical acts and handle set-up, admissions and cleanup.

Tucker said he’s planning to initiate meetings between the promoter and city officials after the new year to start hashing out specifics of crowd/traffic control and post-concert cleanup.

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority may be asked to dedicate concert buses from several points around Niagara County, and private interests may be invited to talk over providing shuttle services from areas including Widewaters Marina and South Transit Road, he added.

“The feedback on this series so far is great,” Tucker said. “The city itself won’t make any money but ... all kinds of local businesses will get an opportunity to make a buck here.”

The Council’s business meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in Council chambers at City Hall.