GULF SHORES, Alabama -- The Gulf Shores City Council unanimously approved a five-year extension of the assembly permit for the Hangout Music Festival during its regular meeting Monday, after a mostly quiet last-chance public comment session earlier in the afternoon.



The 2015 festival was already covered under the previous permit negotiated between Hangout Fest organizers and the city. The new agreement runs through the 2020 festival.

"This document has done all we know to do to serve the public and keep something that's important for a large portion of our community and address the concerns of the others," Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said after the vote. "We've worked real hard for that, and I'm delighted to have unanimous support for this ordinance."

The vote to extend the festival's assembly permit had been postponed multiple times since the 2014 festival, citing a need for more community feedback.

"We've beat this thing to death pretty good over the last six months," Councilman Joe Garris said before the vote. "I've been satisfied with what we've done and I think we've done everything we can to do a good job and try to put this thing on and hope that it does what we're wanting it to do."

The franchise agreement, which was approved mostly unchanged from the draft version introduced last month, calls for a franchise fee of one percent of gross festival revenue beginning with the 2017 festival, and increasing to three percent in 2019.

"I think no one can argue from an economic point of view that it is a positive for our area, for a lot of our businesses and the city as a whole," said council member Carolyn Doughty. "I think the issues that have been brought up, we have tried to address and with (Hangout Fest founder Shaul) Zislin's cooperation, in the future it will be even better."

The ordinance is non-transferable, and requires that Zislin remain the "manager personally responsible" for the execution of the festival for the duration of the agreement.

Drug language softened

The ordinance also institutes a no-tolerance drug policy and prohibits the festival from booking acts with a history of drug use while on stage. The wording of this section of the ordinance was modified from the September draft to clarify that only acts with a history of using drugs while on stage would be prohibited from playing the festival.

The draft version read:

"Franchisee shall not include in the performers, bands, or acts to appear at any Music Fest any person or group with a publicly documented association with the promotion or advocacy of illegal drug use, with a publically documented history of onstage drug use, or with a publicly documented history of recurring drug-related audience disruptions at performances."

The new version reads:

"On stage drug use by performers is strictly prohibited. Use of performers and their associates with a documented history of on stage drug use is strictly prohibited. The festival agrees to, in its best ability, to program acts and activities that do not harm the reputation of Gulf Shores."

Public comments

Only five members of the public spoke during the 2 p.m. comment session, which wrapped up before 2:30 p.m. No one said they opposed the festival outright, but instead voiced concerns about traffic issues and people who chose to sleep in their cars for the festival.

Craft said during the regular meeting that the feedback was appreciated and that additional portable toilets and traffic control plans would be incorporated into the yearly site plan rather than in the permit agreement passed on Monday. The agreement still calls for festival organizers to reimburse the city for "all expenses directly or indirectly incurred" as a result of the festival.



"In our first meetings we had an overwhelming amount of response in favor of this

event," councilman Philip Harris said during the public comment session. "I think the event itself is a world-class production but any time you put 40,000 people together there are issues regardless of why they're gathered together.



"I think we've come with a good document and I think that's evidenced here tonight that there's a shortage of comments."



In response to a question, Craft said the revenue to be gained from the city's franchise fee was not earmarked for any specific purpose in this ordinance, but he would suggest that it go toward improvements or infrastructure for the public beaches.

Councilmen Jason Dyken and Steve Jones voted in favor of the ordinance but did not comment during either meeting.