By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Ortonville — During the regular Monday night meeting, the Ortonville Village council voted against the approval of the Abigail’s Pride event permit with a 5-1 vote. Council member Tony Randazzo was the only person on council who voted to approve the event.
This is the first time the event has been presented on the new event permit application, which village staff created and the council approved last year.
“We’ve been painstakingly coming up with this new procedure from a one page form that told us nothing to an 11 page form that told us probably more than we ever needed to know,” said Village President Ken Quisenberry. “But it was done for a reason. We did not want things with ambiguity. We wanted to know what we were approving.”
The main reason that most of the council gave for denying the permit was the road closure. The event would close Mill Street between Church Street and South Street on June 1 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. In past years, the road was closed for this event.
“My biggest problem with this is, quite frankly, everything about it is fine except for the road closures. And I am not in favor of closing the roads down,” said Quisenberry. “If you do want to submit another copy with some changes made to it, that is something you are certainly encouraged to do.”
Abigail’s Pride, founded by Brandon High School student Abigail Rowe, is a non-profit organization with a goal of creating a safe, happy and healthy environment for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. They have hosted a pride festival in downtown Ortonville the past two years. The proposed road closure is also smaller than last year, when South Street was also closed.
“We try really hard to work with everybody here in town to accommodate their concerns and find a good middle ground for everybody,” said Vice Chairman Beth Rowe. “It is extremely difficult for the youth of the LGBTQ+ community in this community to feel safe, to feel like they have a voice, to feel comfortable in their own community. I cannot tell you, after the first event that we did, the pride that I felt seeing these kids. I see a lot of these kids that walk with their heads down, that don’t want to make a ruckus, don’t want to be pointed out, they don’t want to be harassed, they don’t want to be touched. I saw them with a smile, I saw them with their partners, I saw them happy. This is important in this community. To know that they are welcomed, they are supported, and that there are people and businesses who they can turn to that will support them.”
Members of the council expressed their support for the mission, but still had concerns for the downtown businesses with the road closure.
“I did attend last year, and I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said. I think it’s important,” said Council Member Linda Brooks. “We are being open and accepting. However, my problem also is the closure of the road. I think we need this event and I don’t want to deny this event. I would love you to come back with something that would be more friendly to our businesses. I want to state that I fully support what you’re trying to do here, I think it is very important that these kids have a place where they can be accepted and get through the day.”
Rowe stated that the road closure is for safety reasons, and that it was necessary to the event that the road be closed for the vendors and attendees. The organization is expected to bring a revised permit application to the March regular meeting.