TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WSAV) — Orange Crush is returning this year, despite pushback from the City of Tybee Island. At least two permits have been denied for the event, but promoters are still marketing the event under the name. Officials say that $250,000 has been set aside from Tybee’s general fund to cover what is needed to contain the Orange Crush beach party. Mayor Brian West told News 3 that the city can’t tolerate the event. “If you want to have a party at your house, you have to ask your parents, right? You surely can’t have a party at somebody else’s house without getting permission.” Now, the city has to prepare for a recap of last year with the possibility of fights, bumper-to-bumper traffic, medical emergencies and more. “We’re budgeting for fencing. We’re going to have a fenced-in area for cars that are impounded. We’re budgeting for blocking off the areas on the main route where traffic will be. We’re going to have two lanes of traffic coming and going,” West stated. “The center lane will be used for emergency vehicles. We’re going to, of course, be paying for additional help from other agencies who have to come in and help
police the island.” Although the money comes from a general fund, the city already has a very tight budget right now. West attributed low revenue to the drop in hotel-motel tax last year. “We’re already asking our departments to cut, which is, you know, not comfortable for them. This digs in even more, and so it is difficult for our city to try to come up with this money,” he added. What that number doesn’t include is the estimated $200,000 of free short-term vacation rental stays being offered to first responders donated to the city by rental company owners on the island. Church groups and others volunteering to provide food for them as well. West explained, “They take a parking lot. They fence it off. They have admission. They have booths there with different activities. They have a band. It’s more family-friendly.” To stop this event – which cost the city over $187,000 last year — West says he has thought of taking extreme measures, “…the thought is let’s just block the road. Let’s just keep people from coming down here. You know…. What boundaries do you place on that?” He also said, “We have 80,000 people here for the fourth of July, and it’s a pleasant weekend. Everybody has a nice time. We can have 30,000 people here you know raising hell, and it’s miserable for everybody. It’s hard to decide.” Peach Fest is another unpermitted event that was held last year on Tybee Island the weekend after Orange Crush, but West told News 3 they have not heard anything about the event returning this year.