By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                A lawsuit was filed in Levy County Circuit Court Monday asking for a court order to stop CrabFest organizer Kenuel Gates from going forward with the festival in East Williston on April 24-25 until he obtains a special events permit from the Levy County Commission.

            The motion for temporary injunction is to be heard at 2:30 p.m. on April 21, but Gates was already aware he was facing legal issues when he was served with a notice of violation by County Coordinator Wilbur Dean on March 23 for advertising CrabFest online and with flyers without a county permit.

            Levy County’s Code of Ordinances includes a section governing musical or entertainment festivals. The ordinance defines those events as “any gathering of groups of individuals for the purpose of listening to or participating in entertainment which consists primarily of musical renditions conducted in open spaces, not within an enclosed structure.”

            “I think the thought behind it when it was originally created was that there is no need for the average taxpayer to bear the burden of paying for these additional costs for law enforcement, EMS, and all the other departments affected by this,” Dean said.

            The lawsuit cites multiple advertisements posted by Gates announcing musical performances at CrabFest including Lil Cuzzo, Que3, Cuncho and JLee Bang. CrabFest often attracts as many as 8,000 or more festival-goers that congregate on County Road 318 in East Williston into a massive crowd.

            CrabFest is estimated to be 20 years old but county officials say it looks nothing like it did in the early days. They say it has grown into a block party that has no government permit, no set of rules, and draws large crowds that tax the resources of law enforcement, emergency medical services, and other agencies and departments.

            In the motion for a temporary injunction, lawyers for the county said CrabFest originated as a family reunion and has grown to a “chaotic, sometimes violent block party that draws estimated crowds of over 8,000 people from out of the county.”

            “CrabFest has escalated in both size and violence in the most recent years. In April of 2013, a shooting occurred at CrabFest, killing one person and injuring four others. Due to the size of the crowd, law enforcement was unable to respond quickly to the victim,” the motion said. “Despite being only one-quarter mile away and hearing the gunshots, it took law enforcement approximately 10 minutes to respond. EMS took even longer to respond.”

            Since then, law enforcement has increased personnel, but the Levy County Sheriff’s Office only employs approximately 150 people, including administrative and support staff, according to the motion.

            During CrabFest, massive crowds take over County Road 318, and the area is flooded with pedestrian foot traffic. The sheriff’s office is forced to shut down the road for safety reasons. People drive golf cats and ATVs in the road and people walk among the moving vehicles. People set up multiple speakers to play music that bleed over into each other.  People set up stands to serve alcohol and law enforcement regularly smells burnt marijuana, the motion states. Law enforcement receives multiple noise complaints each year but can’t respond.

            The motion states that Gates has identified himself as the organizer of the festival on his social media page. Multiple advertising flyers for CrabFest announce upcoming performances by artists

            The special events ordinance requires among other things:

• Adequate sanitation facilities, sewage disposal, garbage and refuse disposal, drainage, floodlighting during darkness, insect and rodent control, and water supply and food services.
• An adequate geographic description and scale map or plan of the festival site, showing locations all facilities, including adequate traffic control and parking facilities outside the performance area. Such plans require one parking space for every five patrons and for safe transportation of the patrons from the parking area to the performance areas. No motor vehicles with more than two wheels shall be permitted in the performance area except when necessary to ensure compliance with the ordinance.
• An adequate plan for medical facilities and must have one physician licensed in Florida provided at all times for every 200 patrons, complete with a sterile supply of medicines, bandages, medical compounds, medical instruments, serums, tape, and other supplies necessary to treat adverse drug reactions, cuts, bruises, abrasions, bites, fractures, infections and other injuries common to outdoor activities.
• An adequate plan for internal security, traffic control, communications, fire protection, and emergency services including ambulance service in and around the festival area. Such plan shall provide for one person professionally trained in security and traffic control on duty at all times for every 500 patrons.

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Enterprise reporting by Terry Witt April 13, 2021; Posted April 13, 2021