City's Inspection of Renaissance Faire Site Prompts 31-Item Correction Notice

The St. Louis Renaissance Faire, originally known as the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire at Wentzville, has been given a list of repairs and corrections that must be made to the Rotary Park site.

Repairs must be made, or the noncompliant booth or stage could be shut down during the fair's 2013 run. This year's fair starts May 18.

The site, comprising about 15 acres, is leased by the fair's parent organization, Renaissance St. Louis (RSL) in exchange for five percent of gate admissions to the organization's events.

Even though the ground is owned by the city, RSL owns the stages, storage buildings and some of the booths. Other booths are owned by merchants.

A city inspection on April 9 by city building commissioner Diane Bolderson, Fire Marshall Joe Heitkamp and Fire Inspector Chris Cuddihee, accompanied by Renaissance St. Louis board members Charles Hunsel and Bill Martin, yielded a 31-point list of corrections.

Many of the items relate to the identification and numbering of buildings, stages, decks and other structures on the site. The report states that a map must be created for the use of customers, vendors and emergency crews.

The list also identified:

• Decking repairs on stages
• Drainage ditches that needed to be cleared of debris
• Buildings with cantilevered second floors that do not meet structural requirements
• Roofs that need to be replaced
• Leaning buildings
• Loose or missing railings
• Electrical pedestals needing repair
• Rotten wood on stages, stairs and ramps
• A Morgan building that has not been secured to the ground
• Missing deck piers

The memo also stated that in the future, the Ren Faire would need to be compliant with ADA standards for ramps, that all exposed wood needed to be stained or painted, and that all booths were required to have fire extinguishers.

New buildings must follow city permitting procedures.

Bolderson said she would be carrying out weekly inspections until the fair opened. Individual booths, decks and stages that do not make repairs will be closed and roped off.

"The Ren fair members are diligently trying to get compliance and we are issuing permits for new structures," Bolderson told Patch.

The financially-strapped event and its parent organization, the nonprofit Renaissance St. Louis, have already had to deal with extra expenses this season. Recently, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen decided that the fair had to provide overnight security in order for onsite camping to continue.

The organization's IRS 990 forms indicate that the corporation lost $4,000 in 2009, $14,830 in 2010, and $35,317 in 2011. Patch asked RSL president Bob Stanza for figures for 2012 but was told that they were not yet available.

READ MORE: City to Scrutinize Renaissance Faire Financial Commitment

The IRS forms also show that in 2011, Stanza made a personal loan of $37,780 to RSL for working capital.

RSL cancelled the Renaissance Faire Student Day in 2012, along with another popular event, the St. Louis Pirate Festival.

READ MORE:

• There’s No ‘Arrr’ in Wentzville for 2012
• Renaissance Faire Cancels Student Day Event

(Editor's note: Wentzville Editor Tamara Duncan was a volunteer director for Renaissance St. Louis in 2008 and 2009)