PINE BLUFF — The Pine Bluff City Council passed an ordinance Monday that will allow at least seven private clubs to serve alcoholic beverages until 5 a.m., two hours later than under current city law.
The council approved the measure in a 5-4 vote, with Mayor Carl Redus Jr. breaking a 4-4 tie of the council, despite concerns from four residents who spoke against the legislation.
The new law takes effect 29 days from today.
“People are going to do what they want to do, so we’re just trying to have an environment for them to do this,” Alderman Thelma Walker said in support of the ordinance.
The ordinance, sponsored by Aldermen Walker and Glen Brown, allows private clubs with Class B licenses to serve alcoholic beverages from 10 a.m. until 5 a.m. but prevents those clubs from being open from 5:30 a.m. until 10 a.m.
The clubs that will be allowed to serve alcohol until 5 a.m. are the Cedar Cabin, Captain’s Quarters, Bad Bob’s Country Nightclub, the Duck Inn, Three Gables, P.J.’s Disco and W.M. Townsend Lodge No. 1149, according to the city attorney’s office. The DuckInn, which was torn down by the city, is closed but has a Class B license.
Aldermen Walker, Brown, George Stepps and Irene Holcomb voted for the measure while Wayne Easterly, Charles Boyd, Janice Roberts and Bill Brumett voted against it.
Redus said he broke the tie in favor of the extended hours because it is in line with Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board licensing, which permits Class B private clubs to serve alcohol until 5 a.m.
The current city law allowed those same clubs to serve alcohol until 3 a.m. and be closed by 3:30 a.m.
The city council of a municipality can vote to reduce the hours that Class B clubs can serve alcohol but can’t allow those clubs to serve alcohol later than 5 a.m.
Michael Langley, director of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, said last week the state quit issuing Class B private club permits almost a decade ago and he wishes there were no Class B private clubs left in the state.
His argument: “Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.”
The new law will not affect at least 13 private clubs in Pine Bluff with class A licenses permitted under state licensing to serve alcohol from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Gary Bell, pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Pine Bluff, was one of four people who spoke against the ordinance at Monday night’s City Council meeting.
“There are articles, studies and surveys en masse that conclusively prove that there is an element of crime - assault, prostitution, distribution and use of drugs and murder - that is inextricably connected to nightclubs of every sort,” Bell said. “The facts prove that establishments of this nature breed the very types of behavior that so many of us are partnering against in Pine Bluff.”
But Walker and Brown argued that by allowing the clubs to serve alcohol and stay open later, the city is helping keep at least some of the people off the streets and away from service stations where they’ve been congregating after the clubs close.
Walker said that because of the cost associated with purchasing drinks in clubs, it’s more likely for someone to get drunk at their home, on the streets or driving with friends in vehicles.
Brown added that extending the hours prevents an onslaught of people hitting the streets at 3 a.m.
“Restricting those hours sends an influx of people at one time on the streets,” Brown said.
“We act like it’s a bad thing for people to go out an enjoy themselves,” Brown added.
Arkansas, Pages 7 on 06/22/2010