Lisbon Halloweentown will not be happening again this year.
Lisbon parks and recreation director Drayton Kamberling noted that members of the Halloweentown committee voiced concerns about holding the outdoor event again this year.
“It’s one of our largest attended events,” Kamberling said. “A lot of time goes into planning and preparing for this event, and three of our five board members noted that they will not plan to be part of the event.”
Kamberling noted that while case numbers for COVID are increasing, with the event being held at the end of October, those numbers may not reflect what the situation is on the ground at that time.
Lisbon City Council member Nathan Smith noted he isn’t sure that the community has seen the full effect of the Delta variant.
“I don’t want to jeopardize anyone’s safety for Halloweentown again this year,” Smith said.
Southeast Linn Community Center will not be holding their soup supper this year, and the library will not have any activities indoors.
The large number of youth and adults in a relatively small two-block radius is an issue, Lisbon city council member Stephanie Kamberling said. .
“I think what we did last year, with allowing pumpkins for families to decorate and the scavenger hunt and prizes that were organized, were a good solution,” Stephanie Kamberling said. “I think we should try that for one more year until COVID-19 is more under control.”
Avoiding hosting a superspreader event is something that councilmember Smith said he would like to do if other options could be looked at again this year.
Drayton Kamberling noted that the City would still decorate the downtown, and the community would still allow for trick-or-treating options.
For council members, trick or treating was a much safer option, as there were ways to do that safer, from candy being offered at a distance and crowds being a little more dispersed and spread more across the entire town over those three hours, not just at a single location for extended periods of time.
“People and businesses can be involved in trick-or-treating if they choose, but Halloweentown forces many of those businesses in downtown Lisbon to be involved in that event due to the proximity,” said Lisbon City Council member Sara Nost.
Drayton Kamberling said he and the parks and recreation commission would explore different options at their next meeting and move forward with the plans.
Fire department receives FEMA grant
Lisbon Fire Department received a $46,541 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency which will be used to help purchase air packs for the department. The cost for the fire department will roughly be a $2,600 out-of-pocket expense, but that will allow multiple air packs for the department.
“That’s a significant saving for the City,” Lisbon fire chief Brandon Siggins.
Siggins also thanked the number of businesses who assisted the Lisbon Fire Department’s pancake breakfast on Monday, Sept. 6.
“Because of those donations this year, our first person attending the event was profit for our non-profit organization,” Siggins said. “We served more than 1,000 people and raised more than $11,000 in profit on that day.”