The lawyer for Grand Rapids radio station B-93 says the Ionia Director Of Public Safety told station executives it was safe to hold their Birthday Bash at the Ionia Fairgrounds last summer.”The Director Of Public Safety made the determination it was safe to proceed,” says B-93 attorney Jon March. Approximately 1,400 vehicles were strand ed when the fairgrounds flooded during the concert June 20. Many were severely damaged or totaled.
Radio station lawyer Jon March laid the blame on the Ionia Public Safety Department after a hearing on how to hand le claims from owners of damaged vehicles. “The radio station relied on Ionia’s Department Of Public Safety, who was familiar with the location, familiar with the site and had resources and information available to them to make the determination whether it was safe to proceed with the concert,” says March. Hours before the concert, phone logs show the National Weather Service warned the Ionia Emergency Dispatch Center about the rising river. Then the 9-1-1 emergency dispatcher passed along the information to the Ionia Public Safety Mobile Command Center at the fairgrounds.
The city has not said how or why the decision to proceed with the concert was made. During the hearing Tuesday, an Ionia County judge ruled against a class action lawsuit on behalf of owners suing B-93 over damage to their vehicles. The judge says each case must be decided separately. “We are now at the stage where we determine who, if anyone, is responsible,” says Marc