KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Changes could be in store for Lakefront Park in Kissimmee after a huge mess was left behind at the conclusion of a recent festival.
Visitors found the park covered in trash the next day. The mayor said it was so bad he wants to make sure it never happens again.
Festival organizers said thousands of people attended the event, many more than expected. And while the city has plenty of trash bins at the park, a lot of the debris ended up on the ground.
Photos taken after the festival show garbage scattered across the park, with cups, bottles and debris all over the place.
Photos: Aftermath of party at Lakefront Park
Mayor Jim Swan took the photos, saying, "It was a very difficult thing to look at. I was terribly disappointed but I won't tell you the language I was using at the time."
The trash came from a festival in August hosted by WBVL Latino 99.7, officials said.
The free event had a valid permit for 3,000 people, but the mayor estimates thousands more showed up. He's calling on city leaders to review policies and find better ways to handle large events.
One possible idea is to put a limit on attendance.
"We want to continue to encourage events to happen here," Swan said. "But at the same time we need to take a hard look at how we can do them better."
City staff cleaned up the mess.
The radio station's program director said it was the event's first year and more people showed up than expected.
"The citizens who live here paid for this. Not me," Swan said. "And we just need to make sure what we paid for we take real good care of."
The mayor said he's not targeting any events. He just wants to make sure the mess doesn't happen again.
The radio station said it will likely make some changes like limiting what people can carry into the park if it hosts another event here.
The mayor has asked city leaders to get back to him with ideas by next month.