Election: Information you should have before going to the polls on August 4

The festival begins later Thursday evening with the annual Water Festival Parade at 7 p.m., marking the official start of the long-running community tradition. Carnival rides and food vendors will be available throughout the weekend as festival activities continue through Saturday.

Residents can expect a packed schedule of events over the three-day celebration, with attractions ranging from arts and crafts vendors to races, live entertainment, and a fireworks finale.

After a lengthy discussion about whether to place restrictions on when residents could utilize the expanded district, commissioners approved an amended motion limiting the expansion to only when events are being held at the amphitheater.

More than an hour into the meeting, worsening weather prompted Mayor Angel Johnston to temporarily adjourn proceedings and direct attendees to shelter in the City Hall basement as a precaution.

During the adjournment, Johnston briefly returned home to retrieve her dog before rejoining attendees in the basement.

After the storm passed, commissioners returned upstairs and resumed the meeting.

During public comment, Watershed Voice Staff Writer Maxwell Knauer and Three Rivers Commercial-News reporter Robert Tomlinson both spoke in favor of the city exploring what it would take to begin livestreaming meetings directly.

Knauer thanked commissioners for approving the media access policy but urged them to take the additional step of exploring what city-operated livestreaming would require.

“I think that is the simplest step to showing your constituents that you care about transparency at all,” Knauer said.