JOHN COFFELT Contributor

Representatives from area first responders briefed the Emergency Management Agency Committee on June 5 on their planned deployment during this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.

Among those reports said that reported lighter ticket sales would likely make traffic in the city lighter than last year.

 “I think … traffic will be lighter this year because the attendance numbers are lower than last year,” Allen Lendley, Director of the Coffee County EMA, said. “Hopefully, that will help.” 

Bonnaroo is again staggering admission by day, though this year’s festival has a music performance Thursday, which will draw additional festivalgoers earlier in the week.

 Manchester Police Department (MPD) Assistant Chief Adam Floied, who has recently attended a high-level meeting with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), noted that THP would be reduced its footprint in the area for the festival. MPD will now be working traffic control in some additional places normally manned by THP, Campground Road, Kimberly Lane and Asbury Road.

“That in-turn, we’ve had to outsource a lot of traffic post,” Floied said. “Coffee County Sheriff’s Department – since the festival has been annexed, has been good about giving us (off duty) deputies.”

Manchester Police will also have Manchester firefighters to help direct traffic, along with Tullahoma and Warren County officers.

Floied said that THP will provide assistance as needed. Additionally during the week of Bonnaroo, state troopers will work in-city traffic crashes on the state numbered highways.

“We have a good plan with THP there,” Floied said.         

Floied said that the basic plan for this Bonnaroo is similar to last year; however, this year the force is made-up of more rookie officers who have not worked the festival before.

“New officers, young officers, inexperienced officers – that’s always a bit of a challenge,” Floied said, adding that leadership was confident in the police coverage the department would provide.

Manchester Police has two officers graduating from the police academy the week after Bonnaroo, five who are waiting to attend the academy. Those five must be accompanied by a certified officer on duty.

Traffic patterns in and out of the festival will be similar as it was planned for last year.

Last year those leaving along Campground Road were directed to only turn right onto the Hillsboro Highway and onto I-24 westbound. Kimberly Lane traffic turned right also on to the Hillsboro Highway.

The two flows of traffic were intended to form two lanes, one on the shoulder and one on the northbound lane of Hillsboro Highway and then merge past the concrete island on the entrance ramp.

“Somewhere, something failed between TDOT and THP and that was blocked off. At the same time we agreed to let them do a small egress down Powers Road. That traffic was supposed to go left to the 114 (exit). That egress happened the same time as the Kimberly Road traffic and that traffic came straight into town, and made a big mess,” Floied said.

This year no egress will be allowed onto Powers Road.  A traffic meeting is planned to finalize the Kimberly Lane egress, whether to make dual lanes onto the 114 or force a left there and route that traffic to exit 117.

During the festival MPD officers will be patrolling inside the festival while maintaining enough coverage in the city.

Floied said that undercover teams working with TBI will be inside the festival as well as uniformed patrol officers. Those officers will work in pairs and can respond with a patrol car or a side-by-side depending on the nature of the incident.

While most county agencies, have minimal presence at the festival, Coffee County Emergency Medical Service and Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department will be providing service during the festival.

EMS director Michael Bonner said that the service will provide one ambulance onsite starting Wednesday and at 8 a.m. on Thursday will go up to two ambulances.

“Staffing is again a challenge this year,” he said. “We’ve added MedStaff to help us on two different shifts, one Coffee County and one MedStaff ambulance.”

“Right now everything is covered and everything is good. Hope that nobody calls out sick,” Bonner said.

EMS doesn’t normally respond to calls on the festival grounds. Crews are stationed on the edge of the site and provide the occasional transports for cases that the Bonnaroo medical team cannot treat onsite.

Bonner said that some supplies were in short order.

“The hospitals said they were having trouble. National Event Service (Bonnaroo’s medical contractor) said they had to work through some other vendors and I had a lot of NARCAN (emergency overdose treatment) delivered today that we will have onsite.”

“The biggest supply shortage will be I.V. fluids,” Bonner said. “If the weather holds, it’s hot and dry then the weather starts to become an issue, then I.V. fluids will become an issue.”

Bonner didn’t expect weather to be a problem, but forecasts will be more accurate in the coming days. 

Coffee County Rescue Squad was sent a letter this year from the festival saying that their service was not needed. Lendley said that the decision came from the festival and not from anyone in the county or city governments.