Some concertgoers at Saturday's annual Millennium Blues Festival at the Leflore County Civic Center were singing the blues - over parking fees at the site.
Those attending were charged $3 for parking, said Ruben Hughes, the festival's promoter.
"We became aware of it at 3 o'clock Saturday, and the show started at 8," said Hughes.
In all, 2,850 tickets were sold to the festival, he said.
Since festival-goers weren't aware of an added expense when they pulled into the center's parking lot. "we almost had a riot," Hughes said.
The fee for parking more than 500 cars was adopted by the Leflore County Civic Center-Agricenter Advisory Board on Dec. 18, 2006, said Andrew McQueen, the center's director.
The five-member board, appointed by the Leflore County Board of Supervisors, handles the day-to-day operations of the Civic Center and Agricenter.
Herman Sullivan, chairman of the advisory board, said the fee is intended to provide for the maintenance and upkeep of the parking lot. He said the center's contract states that the county reserves the right to operate the parking lots and check rooms at the center.
Hughes, manager at WGNL radio station, has been promoting concerts for 15 years. He said Saturday night was the first time he heard about a parking fee at the center.
He has been raising a ruckus on the airwaves since Saturday about the parking fee.
He said a similar charge was implemented at events he sponsored at the Agricenter - once at a blues show on Oct. 14, and at two blues shows in 2004.
Hughes said the advisory board "pulled a closed-door meeting" when they approved the fee for parking at the center.
The other advisory board members, in addition to Sullivan, are Lee Hall, Jay Rose, Dorothy Jones and Ruth Hampton.
Sullivan said the advisory board acted within its authority to implement the parking fee. Unlike the previous occasions when a parking fee was collected, Sullivan said, Saturday's parking receipts weren't split equally with Hughes.
"When you have an event with 800 or 900 cars, it has to be organized. We have to bring in extra people," he said.
Hughes said "two strangers" were collecting money Saturday from festival-goers. He also contends that "nobody knows where the money went" from the collected fees.
Sullivan said procedures are already in place and provide for accountability on all parking fees collected at the center.
Sam Abraham, Leflore County chancery clerk, said concerns over the policy will likely come before the Board of Supervisors as soon as Monday's regular meeting.
"I think the board will be made aware. They will address whatever needs to be addressed. I've had several calls on it," he said.
Specifically, Abraham said, the board will likely discuss funds collected from parking fees at both the Civic Center and Agricenter.
"You have to have controls in place to make sure that the money goes to the county. If they are going to do that, you have put that in place," Abraham said.
He said any confusion would be resolved by the Board of Supervisors. "As county auditor, we're going to have procedures to cover it," Abraham said.
Sullivan defended McQueen's actions on Saturday.
"We're highly satisfied with the job Andrew McQueen is doing. He is only doing what the board requested he do," Sullivan said.
