Changes in alcohol policy and lack of shuttles have county officials uncertain of what to expect for this year's Number Fest.
While students made plans to attend this weekend's 14Fest, county officials made plans of their own.
After Number Fest changed some of its policies for this year's event, the Athens County Sheriff's Office and Emergency Medical Services reconsidered how to prepare for the event. One policy change this year is that the event will not offer a shuttle service.
14Fest, or Number Fest, is an annual music festival that will take place at 8003 State Route 56 Friday and Saturday. This year, the event nixed its BYOB policy and included an option for attendees to camp at the event site.
Athens County Sheriff Rodney Smith said the department tries to plan as best as it can for events that draw large crowds, such as Number Fest.
“I always have concerns,” Smith said.
Smith said the office's main concern is movement along State Route 56 when people leave the event.
State Route 56 was shut down in previous years due to the number of festgoers heading back into town from the event, according to a previous Post report. Residents with homes along the state route also aired complaints following last year's Number Fest.
Smith said the department also keeps residents in the area, who may feel that the event disrupts their activities, in mind.
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“I think the issue is going to be how do you move that many people in and out of the site,” Lenny Eliason, an Athens County commissioner, said.
Smith said there was a steady flow of people walking on State Route 56 last year, adding that people were “shoulder to shoulder.”
Rick Callebs, chief of Athens County Emergency Medical Services, said he wasn’t sure how changes in the fest’s policy will affect the work of EMS.
Callebs said though Athens County EMS generally has no problems working street fests and block parties, Number Fest's policy changes each year makes planning more difficult.
At last year's Number Fest, EMS saw 81 people at its first aid station at the venue’s entrance and transported 26 to nearby hospitals, according to a previous Post report.
“It’s become the No. 1 stressor event for us all year long,” Callebs said.
Callebs said EMS saw many cases of people drinking before the event and becoming intoxicated earlier in the day, and he anticipated they’d see a similar situation this year.
EMS generally has about 25 employees working at Number Fest along with five ambulances, a mobile command center and a triage tent, Callebs said.
Callebs said EMS sees a “gamut” of drunk people, including those who can barely stand but have no serious issues, those who are combative and try to start fights and those who just pass out.
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Last year, EMS had a couple cases where its workers encountered people who weren’t breathing due to a combination of drugs and alcohol, Callebs said.
“It’s usually a work out for us,” Callebs said.
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