Permit For Carnival At Milford High School Denied By Select Board

MILFORD, MA — A carnival planned to take place at Milford High School later this summer won't happen following opposition from residents nearby the school and Select Board members.

The Salisbury-based carnival company Fiesta Shows had applied for a permit to host a three-day carnival at the school beginning on Aug. 11. The event would be, in part, a fundraiser for the Milford Fourth of July Parade.

The Select Board also denied a permit for the carnival at the high school in 2021. But organizers were able to hold the event at Fino Field, and raised an estimated $17,000 for the parade. Fino Field isn't available this summer due to ongoing renovations, according to Parks and Recreation Administrator Jim Asam.

Ray Auger, a Milford Fourth of July Parade organizer, said the group began organizing the carnival in January and sent letters to more than 700 people living near the high school about the event.

"A lot of the outreach we've done, we've let the public know what we're doing, and we haven't really head that much feedback, negative-wise," he said.

But all three Select Board members spoke out in opposition to the carnival, and said they had heard from residents opposed to the event. The carnival organizers said they had received a lot of support for the event, and had gathered close to 400 signatures in support in an online petition.

Select Board member Paul Mazzuchelli said he doesn't mind carnivals in general, but not at the high school. He raised issues like possible vandalism at the school, noise and crowds.

"A carnival is a good thing, but in my opinion it's just in the wrong place," Mazzuchelli said.

Select Board member Michael Walsh read letters from Milford Police Chief James Falvey and Fire Chief Mark Nelson describing concerns about crowds and being able to move emergency vehicles up West Fountain Street. The carnival would've been confined to the front parking lot along West Fountain across from Princeton Drive, according to the permit application.

"The big picture you're missing is public safety," Walsh said.

Two Milford High School neighbors also spoke against the event. Kelly Boccia, a Bandy Lane resident, told the Select Board she and her neighbors were concerned about large crowds coming together with COVID-19 still circulating, large traffic volumes and having carnival workers staying overnight at the school. She said the carnival organizers had "no empathy" for the neighbors.

The Milford Fourth of July Parade Committee is planning its first full event in 2022 after the event was called off over the first two years of the pandemic.

"We’re going to brainstorm some alternative sites but we’ve exhausted our efforts. Fingers crossed that we can think of a site we haven’t considered yet," the Milford Fourth of July Parade wrote on its Facebook page Monday night.