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Warren explores fencing for amphitheater

Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Anne McCullough of Champion, left, and Phyllis Pollard of Warren, take their morning walk around the Warren Community Amphitheatre last week. Both said they think the orange fence around the perimeter of the venue is ugly.

WARREN — A summer stroll down Warren’s Millionaires Row can be an architectural treat.

Featuring homes built in the 1800s by Warren’s early titans of industry, mansions like the Kinsman House and the Perkins Mansion — where City Hall is housed — still stand adorned with flowers, shutters and period pieces.

But round Mahoning Avenue to the lawn overlooking the Warren Community Amphitheatre, and chances are you’ll be met with bright orange, temporary “snow” fencing.

“It looks awful,” said Ken Haidaris, co-founder of Sunrise Entertainment, the concert promotions company that puts on the annual summer River Rock at the Amp concert series.

The event has been bringing tribute bands and fans to the venue for 10 years.

“As beautiful as everything is on Millionaires Row, this fencing doesn’t do it justice,” Haidaris said.

For years, Haidaris has paid $300 to $400 per week to have the orange fencing put up and taken down before and after shows. Sometimes, like this past week, the city’s administration has allowed him to leave the fence in place. The fence is necessary for paid events, although the space is otherwise a public space when it isn’t being rented.

Enzo Cantalamessa, the city’s safety service director, said the fencing is only left up on the city property when there isn’t an event planned between shows at the amp. And if there is an event and city workers have to assist in removing the fencing, the city sends a bill to Haidaris’ company, he said.

It takes a lot of effort for the fencing to go up and down each week, Haidaris said. The fence stretches from the grassy area near Mahoning Avenue and wraps down around all of the seating area and behind the amphitheater, encompassing it.

“When we first started River Rock, we didn’t know what it would morph into. So we used the snow fence for a long time. It looks terrible. What a waste of time and energy. It doesn’t match up with the beautiful facility. It doesn’t match what we should have,” Haidaris said.

As more downtown attractions fill out Courthouse Square and the surrounding area, Haidaris said he and other business owners downtown want to see the city invest in permanent fencing.

“We would like to see something aesthetically beautiful, something that fits into the environment,” Haidaris said.

Cantalamessa said the administration is exploring the costs that would be associated with the project.

Cost estimates are not available, Cantalamessa said, because the project will likely have to be put out to bid. And in order to protect the integrity of the bid process, the estimates won’t be made public.

There is nothing prepared to put before council as of yet, Cantalamessa said. But any purchase like that would have to be approved by city council.

Cantalamessa said any fencing considered would need to match the area’s aesthetics and consider the historical homes and buildings around it.

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