Darin Bosley said for the last eight years, he’s held a popular car show on Dolton Park District property, until this year, when barriers, both figuratively and literally, were thrown up and forced the event to be relocated.
He and the Park District said the village required a permit for the show, set to have been held this past Saturday at the district’s John W. Needles Park, 142nd Street and Woodlawn Avenue, something that hasn’t been needed in past years.
“It’s been stressful,” Bosley said Monday. “It makes no sense of anything.”
On Friday, large concrete barriers were placed at the entrance to the park and village police were out Saturday to ensure the show would not take place, according to the Park District.
Bosley said it would have been the ninth year for the event, with it being held in Dolton the entire time and at Needles the past six years. He said at the last minute, he was able to change the location to Chicago’s Southeast Side.
The event draws more than 300 attendees, and Bosley said there are food vendors that set up and that, last year, more than 150 vehicles registered to attend the Dolton show.
The Park District stressed it is a separate government body from the village, levying its own property taxes and under the authority of the village only in matters related to large-scale improvements at village parks that would require village permits.
The district said it is contemplating legal action and has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday to discuss the car show matter.
Dolton officials did not immediately return messages left Monday seeking comment.
Bosley said he was contacted Aug. 9 by Dolton Village Administrator Keith Freeman, telling him the event would need a special event permit from the village or would be shut down.
Freeman, Bosley said, offered an alternative to hold the car show at a site where Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard was also holding a weekend event. Bosley said he turned that offer down.
The Park District and Bosley contend the event has never required a permit from the village.
“I only needed one permit and that was from the Park District,” Bosley said Monday.
Bosley, previously a Dolton resident who just recently moved to Calumet City, said he paid the Park District a $1,000 fee for the use of Needles for the show. He said he was refunded after being told the show wouldn’t be allowed in Dolton, and the Park District confirmed it refunded the permit fee.
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The district said it has the authority, separate from the village, to rent parks “to individuals or groups interested in hosting events and programs.”
Bosley said that while he was able to relocate the show, he would have preferred to keep it in Dolton if given the opportunity to sort out the permit issue.
“I would have loved to work something out and make it right,” Bosley said.
Bosley operates a business in Lansing, DD Customs & Accessories, which specializes in car audio systems and has been the show’s sponsor.
The Park District said it has requested a permit from the village to pour a concrete pad at another park, Rucker Park, 154th Street and Greenwood Avenue, where it wants to build a fitness center.
Stephanie Wiedeman, the district’s interim executive director, attended a Village Board meeting last month asking about the status of the permit.
mnolan@tribpub.com
