ROCKLAND – “It’s not just that we bring the food and beer,” Kerry Altiero, owner of Cafe Miranda, said. “That’s almost a minor part of this.”

Altiero sat before City Council, Monday, May 7, requesting use of a city-owned parking lot on Oak Street for a party on Thursday, June 7.

His block party, he said, provides a marquee value that brings awareness to this year’s charity recipient, the Knox County Homeless Coalition.

“A lot of people think, oh, this is some kind of skid row shelter,” he said. “That’s clearly not what they do. What they do is they place people in sustainable housing, hundreds of people a year. That is something people need to know about.”

The issue before council, however, is written in municipal policy.

The policy for special events on city property does not include parking lots, according to Councilor Ed Glaser.

“This is a big stretch from what we’ve done in the past,” he said.

The policy lists most of the city-owned parks, “and other properties,” he said. “When it says ‘other properties’ it is referring to the other parks that are listed on this list. It’s not saying ‘any other piece of property that the city owns.’

“Now we are basically offering a private individual to have an event in a parking lot,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what the purpose is. We do not have any authority at this point to do this.”

Councilor Adam Ackor, in attempting to clarify the policy’s interpretation, said: “It can be construed that way. It says ‘other properties.’ The parking lot is ‘other properties.’”

As an example of a previous situation, the Farnsworth annual party that includes a street closure was mentioned. In that case, the museum already owns the parking lot. The order set before the organization includes a provision that they will follow the provisions of that policy, according to City Clerk Stuart Sylvester.

Altiero also must adhere to liquor laws.

“In our 25-year history, we’ve never been busted for anything,” he said. “We’ve done plenty of catering and outdoor events in various municipalities and in various styles, too.”

Altiero, with help from Hannaford Markets, is also doing promotions that fuels money to child nutrition and food insecurity. He estimates that his campaign has raised around $225,000 so far, which went to the Good Shepard Food Bank.

Some time during the summer, Altiero plans to have another block party in the Hannaford parking lot, also in support of the Homeless Shelter, their childhood nutrition, and their mini housing.

“I love what you are trying to do,” Mayor Valli Geiger said. “Knox County Coalition needs all the help it can get. The problem is growing, not getting smaller.”

City Councilors plan to vote on the special events policy Monday, May 14.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com