The first agenda item of the Sept. 8 meeting of the Riverside City Council divided councilmembers over whether to approve a mass gathering event at a baseball tournament fundraiser.

Ellis Helmuth originally represented the Gospel Light Fellowship at the Riverside City Council meeting on Aug. 17, requesting use of the city’s baseball diamonds at Hall Park for the fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 26. The issue was tabled until the September meeting to allow Helmuth to provide more information about COVID-19 safety measures.

For the Sept. 8 meeting, Helmuth provided the council with a form that indicated all 130-150 fans and participants will be encouraged to wear masks when distancing is not possible and “practice social distancing in accordance to state recommendations.” He said team captains and the tournament committee will be monitoring for compliance.

Councilmember Jeanine Redlinger said listing these positions in lieu of individuals’ names was not “an acceptable response” and expressed concern over community transmission at the event.

“I’m not planning on going to these events, but that doesn’t mean somebody in Riverside isn’t going to get it and give it to somebody else,” she said.

COVID-19 infection rates have steadily increased in Iowa since Helmuth’s initial request, but he argued that, since the positive cases are largely tied to college student populations, they shouldn’t affect the proposed fundraiser.

“We don’t live in a college town here, our kids coming to play ball do not come from Ames or Iowa City,” he said. “We can live out of fear, or we can live out of doing what we want to do. We’re not planning on holding a big party, we’re having a ball game.”

Councilmember Lois Schneider expressed concern over the ability to social distance around the small ballfield during the tournament’s championship game.

“You’re not going to have probably 130 to 150 people…spread on two diamonds. You’re going to have them all focused on that one, and we don’t have that much seating space around there. Even if they went around the whole field, they wouldn’t be distancing properly,” she said.

The city council eventually approved the request, 3-2, with Redlinger and Schneider casting the dissenting votes.

The discussion then turned to a potential future Riverside Area Community Club movie night event, as well as a development agreement for a local company for construction of a parking lot. The potential donation of a Riverside ambulance to Washington County was also brought up and debated.

Various other resolutions passed with little to no discussion. These included fund transfers, the approval of a construction date extension and the formation of a Citizen Advisory Committee Task Force in conjunction with government students at Highland High School. The task force would gather public opinion on playground conditions from children, teenagers and new parents.

All of these resolutions passed unanimously. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting concluded after a short debate as to how to proceed with a blown generator at city hall.