By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A back-to-school event revolving around music and community could make its way to Whitewater.
Ken-Tom Vaughn, a Whitewater-based entrepreneur, discussed his vision for the event at a Common Council meeting Aug. 15. Vaughn is the owner and operator of Our Town Productions, a music, management and promotions company.
Vaughn used the council’s public comment portion of the agenda as a sounding board for his passion behind music and art as a means for bringing people together.
In his proposal, Vaughn said he would like to hold a music event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, in an outdoor area at West Scott and South Scott streets. The gathering space would be cut off by the railroad tracks
The property, Vaughn said, is in an area deemed unbuildable and sits in an area heavily populated by college students, ages 20 to 25. Whitewater Property Management owns the land.
“I have their blessing and their permission,” Vaughn said of the rights to use the open space.
In his brief pitch to the council, Vaughn did not ignore Spring Splash, the figurative elephant in the room, which came under scrutiny a year-and-a-half ago when a number of ancillary gatherings resulted in rowdy behavior and overtaxed police resources.
Vaughn said the event’s time frame would be designed to mitigate any of the problems that occurred in April 2016.
The timing of the music event, Vaughn said, is designed to keep students in Whitewater a week after the fall semester gets underway. He pointed out most students historically leave the city once all of the orientation activities are completed.
“To keep everyone here, it’s better,” Vaughn said. “It’s better for the businesses, and it’s better for the city.”
Because his plan was not on the agenda, the council did not speak for or against Vaughn’s planned event.
