Commissioners to review Burning Man status

Tuesday, Aug. 12, 1997 | 10:21 a.m.

Organizers of the Labor Day gathering near the Black Rock Desert want officials to relax their demand for $500,000 up front to pay for fire protection and law enforcement.

But some commissioners argue the county needs the money in the bank to prevent it from getting stuck with the bills.

"We can't wait a year while we go through an appeal process" to get paid, said Commissioner Mike Mouliot. "We don't want to be taking money out of pocket, then trying to collect."

Burning Man organizers owed the Bureau of Land Management $23,000 for last year's festival held on public land in Pershing County. The money was supposed to be paid within two weeks after the event, but it wasn't paid in full until April, said Bud Cribley, of the BLM office in Winnemucca.

"They were delinquent in making payments," Cribley said "They told us they did not have sufficient funds."

About 12,000 people are expected to attend the Woodstock-style gathering being held this year on private land in northern Washoe County.

Washoe County commissioners last month approved a special use permit for the event, but added more than 100 fire, safety and sanitation conditions that must be met.

The conditions must be met before the county issues the festival a special events permit.

Mouliot requested the $500,000 letter of credit to guarantee payment of county expenses, such as overtime for firefighters and law enforcement.

Burning Man's organizers are working with the county to try to reduce fire risks in hopes of lowering the letter of credit to $300,000.

A letter of credit requires that the funds be deposited in a local bank. Event sponsors would prefer to post a bond, which is similar to an insurance policy and only requires an up-front payment of only a percentage of the total amount.

Mouliot, however, said it could take up to a year to collect on a bond, while the county has to pay overtime and other costs from its general budget.

"We have to pay immediately," he said. "That's why we want a letter of credit."