Riley County might look into billing the Aggieville Business Association for emergency services used on Fake Patty’s Day.
EMS Director David Adams asked the Riley County commission if this is something they might consider. He says he has spoken with other departments about the possibility since the ABA has their name attached to the celebration.
One of his suggestions is to conduct a cost analysis study to see how much it is costing the county. Preliminary numbers show the costs at around $3,500.
Commissioner John Ford says a cost analysis study would be the best route for now. Adams says they haven’t seen as much population in Aggieville during Fake Patty’s as much in the past few years. He will conduct an analysis after this year’s celebration and bring it back to the commission.
Adams also informed the commission on their efforts gearing up for what they are dubbing as the two Fake Patty’s days. This is in reference to the actual Fake Patty’s Day and the KU/K-State Basketball game, since that is when fake patty’s was supposed to take place.
Adams says they are not expecting any major changes to Aggieville on the day of the game. The Riley County Police Department will not be closing down the streets in Aggieville, but they will have staff on call. They will only bring people in if things get too busy or out of hand.
However, Adams does not believe this will happen and hopes the cold weather might discourage people from going outside.
On March 21st, the actual Fake Patty’s Day, the EMS and other departments will take the same precautions as previous years. The streets in Aggieville will be closed for vendors and will have EMS staff on location. However, Adams says they will be backing off a little more this year, since the attendance in Aggieville has been dropping. They will also not be down there as early as in the past.
RCPD Director Dennis Butler also commented on the recent arrest for the Lee Elementary Hoax during the meeting. Butler says they knew immediately they would need some assistance in finding the suspect, due to the technology he was using. They asked for help from the FBI that very same day, which he believes helped find the suspect faster.
Butler says he is glad to have some kind of closure for the parents and kids knowing an arrest has been made. They had over 100 kids miss school because of the hoax and parents were worried about what was going on. He is looking forward to the suspect being held accountable in the long run.
“Sometimes in cases the public wonders what we’re doing because we aren’t reporting anything and I want to reassure them that in matters like this, we are working on it,” says Butler, “It really isn’t fruitful to discuss details or progress unless we think the public can help us with that.”
Butler says even though they knew it was a hoax pretty early on, the took the situation very seriously. He also thanked the public for their patience while they worked on this case.
Butler also warned the commission of a new scam targeting K-State students. Students are receiving emails suggesting they are eligible for a paid internship. This email asks for personal identifying information such as social security numbers, birth dates, and even bank accounts. They have already had a student fall victim to this scam.
Butler says his warning about this email and other related scams remains the same; if any unknown solicitation is asking for information, do not give them any response.
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