Council weighs higher fees, vendor licensing and traffic changes for special events after contentious Bike Week

Cave Creek officials told council on June 16 they will tighten special‑event oversight and consider new fee and traffic models after repeated complaints about vendor compliance, pedestrian safety and noise during multi‑day events such as Bike Week.

Staff described the current process: a fillable special‑event application routed to departments, a $150 flat application fee, vendor lists submitted prior to events, and post‑event debriefs. Council members and staff said some large events require substantial staff time (staff noted roughly six staff-hours for events lasting four or more consecutive days) and that the current flat fee does not always recover town costs.

Council discussion focused on three priorities: recovering staff costs, improving tax and business‑license compliance, and reducing traffic and pedestrian conflicts. Vice Mayor Royer and others urged a tiered fee structure tied to event duration and complexity; multiple councilmembers suggested requiring promoters to pay for off‑duty officers, barricades, and other direct costs for traffic control. ‘‘If we’re providing staff time and traffic control, the fee should reflect that,’’ a council member said.

On vendor compliance, staff said the town is enforcing business licenses and TPT (transaction privilege tax) requirements and may work with state auditors to audit vendors where compliance is suspected to be low. Teresa, the town clerk, noted the town improved electronic vendor lists and recently shortened application routing times.

Safety and traffic engineering also drew extensive attention. Councilmembers asked for a traffic‑management workshop and the possibility of temporarily reconfiguring lanes so one side of Cave Creek Road could serve as a pedestrian/display corridor while through‑traffic uses the other lanes during peak hours; staff said the town previously hired a traffic engineering firm for Bike Week counts and recommendations and can revisit options.

Next steps: Staff will return with fee‑structure options, a plan for vendor licensing enforcement and TPT compliance measures, and proposals for traffic management and event conditions (including potential temporary fencing and clearer crosswalk controls). Council suggested holding a stakeholder workshop with major event promoters, bar owners and public‑safety staff before next year’s Bike Week.