Concert Moved To Private Property In Grantsville; Yet To File Permit

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A controversial concert that was slated for May 30 in Kaysville has been moved to Tooele County, event organizers said. According to an email obtained by KSL from the Kaysville City Business Licensing, the permit for the concert was denied.

The group Utah Business Revival is organizing the event, which they said will now be held near Grantsville.

Jason Manning owns the Studio Ranch Amphitheater which is where the concert will now be held.

He said the event will go forward – no matter what.

“If you want to social distance and keep seven feet away, that’s fine. If you want to wear a mask, that’s fine. If you want to wear gloves, that’s fine,” he said.

However, after UBR’s Eric Moutsos joined Dave and Dujanovic on KSL NewsRadio Thursday, Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne responded in a tweet that it was the first he’d heard of the plans.

“An event that size – even under normal circumstances – would require a mass gathering permit,” according to Milne. “Timelines for review and permitting such a gathering would require more than the ten days until their proposed date.”

Hmmm 🤔… First we’ve heard of it here at #TooeleCounty.
An event of that size – even under normal circumstances – would require a mass gathering permit. Timelines for review and permitting such a gathering would require more than the ten days until their proposed date.

— Shawn Milne (@ShawnMilne) May 21, 2020

Moutsos confirmed to Dave and Dujanovic that his organization hasn’t contacted any Tooele County authorities, and he doesn’t care about getting any mass gathering permits, KSL NewsRadio reports.

The Tooele County Health Department released a statement Thursday afternoon saying the event has not been approved.

“According to state code R392-400 all mass gatherings over 1,000 people must receive a permit by the health department where the event will be located,” the statement reads. “No permit application has been received by Tooele County Health Department to review. This review covers mass gathering event strategies for restrooms, traffic, safety, and other concerns.”

The statement also outlined concerns over COVID-19 transmission and the health and safety of the citizens. It also noted that there could be legal consequences for the owner of the venue.

“After an event is held without a permit, it is possible for the health department to file charges against the property owner for allowing an unpermitted event to take place,” according to the TCHD.

Utah Business Revival plans to hold their free Collin Raye concert, in Tooele County "permits or not." Why, and what county leaders have to say about it, on @KSL5TV at 5&6pm. pic.twitter.com/eUVcsu2NeC

— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) May 21, 2020

Manning said he agreed to host the concert because it is, in part, to benefit businesses like his that were forced to shutdown to slow the spread of covid 19, “A lot of them, like me, don’t qualify for unemployment. I just went broke. We got turned down for a PPP loan. We got turned down for an SBA loan. We don’t quality for unemployment so for six weeks I had zero money.”

Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne said he heard the event was moved thru the media. “It would have been preferable if he would have gone through the normal channels.”

Milne said the proper permitting process takes about sixty days. This concert is just over a week away.

Kaysville Mayor Katie Witt endorsed the concert before it was moved. The event would have allowed up to 5,000 concert-goers to congregate. The event appeared to violate the county’s “yellow phase” health directive.

Davis County is currently in the low-risk, or “yellow phase” of the Utah Leads Together plan. Under those guidelines, in-person interactions should be in decreased group sizes that enable social distancing guidelines to be maintained. The plan also advises that social interactions should be in groups of 50 or fewer.

“On so many levels it’s not right, and it’s literally breaking the backs of so many in town right now,” former Kaysville city councilman Dave Adams said.

He said he’s not only worried about health and safety concerns, but he also suspects the concert could be a publicity stunt for Witt, who is running for Congress.

Witt said she took an oath to uphold the Constitution.

“The freedom to peaceably assemble is a bedrock principle that Utah was founded on,” she said. “I will always stand up for your constitutional rights.”

After Witt approved the concert, the nonprofit group Alliance for a Better Utah called for her to resign.

The Kaysville City Council is also expected to condemn the event at its council meeting Thursday.

In a statement, Utah Business Revival said Kaysville has shown “both the best and the worst of government.”

“With our constitutional rights at risk, Kaysville Mayor Katie Witt and police chief Sol Olberg have been true champions of your (First) Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly,” according to UBR’s Eric Moustsos.

The concert, which will star country music singer Collin Raye, will move to the Amphitheatre at Studio Ranch outside Grantsville.

“Utah and Tooele County are doing a great job flattening the COVID-19 curve, and we do not want to see a spike in COVID-19 cases come from an unapproved event like this,” according to the TCHD. “We want to promote community unity and at the same time protect the health and wellbeing of our citizens.”