VICTOR — We highlighted a bike park created by an Iraq veteran and his family at the end of July.
They told us then that they also planned to host events on their property. The first is set for Labor Day — an electronic festival.
While event coordinators look forward to a weekend of music, concerned neighbors are musing about the possible impacts such an event could bring.
Watch to hear from both sides of the issue:
"We have 45 local DJs and then 2 DJs that are flying in. There's not a lot of performance opportunities for DJs around here," Lovers & Lunatics Festival director Ivan Gallego said.
Gallego and his team plan to bring a 400-person capacity electronic music festival with a camping experience to Arthur Sykes' bike park, "The Property".
Sykes owns 80 acres of private property but has turned 55 of those acres into biking trails.
"Our events are ultimately what helps build our trails," Sykes told MTN.
Sykes says he sent the event details out to local and state municipalities.
"We submitted that to the environmental health department, the Sheriff's Office, the planning department, we shared it with the road division, and we spoke to the Forest Service and, pretty much try to be as transparent as possible in our operation; we were able to secure insurance," Sykes detailed.
Gallego told MTN that there will be emergency services and security on site. He says campfires and smoking are prohibited. Music has a strict cut-off at 12 a.m. each night.
"We're going through everybody's bags, making sure there's no illicit substances, no dangerous items. We're asking people to have clear bags to make it even easier for us to do that. Anybody that's not welcome will be turning away," Gallego said.
Nearby neighbors say they want more details from the event team about something happening in their backyard.
"We have no idea how he plans to manage things like fire, water protection," concerned neighbor Danielle Gundlach-Cassley told MTN.
Neighbors say they support the family-friendly bike park, but feel concerts in the area are too much.
"I appreciate everybody's ability to want to do business and to make money and support their families. I'm all for it. You know, but this isn't the right venue for that situation. So, I would hope they would reconsider and do something different," concerned neighbor Stuart Draper said.
They are concerned about hundreds of cars parking in dry grass and potential fire starts during the peak of fire season.
"We've had neighbors who have driven their tractors into fields and have them spark a fire," Gundlach-Cassley stated.
They're also worried about emergencies with increased traffic driving on Fred Burr Road.
"If you have an accident and there's a fire and you can't get some fire people in we're gonna have a big problem," Gundlach-Cassley said.
Neighbors additionally highlighted environmental and wildlife impacts.
"The amount of wildlife up here is truly special. I think they're all going to scatter," Draper said.
On water contamination, Draper said, "There's irrigation water that runs through that property. What sort of poisons and different things could be introduced?"
The event team says they want to work with neighbors to make a cohesive experience.
"Certainly, anybody that might have any questions or concerns, we're more than welcome to discuss and talk to them about that."
MTN reached out multiple times for a statement on the event from the Ravalli County Sheriff's Office, but have not heard back.
