The Little Rock Board of Directors approved a long-term contract Tuesday between the city and Riverfest after asking the city attorney to add a clause that would require the festival’s organizers to adhere to and promote the city’s no-tobacco policy in public parks.
It’s the first time the 36-year-old festival has had a contract governing the event’s use of downtown. Previously the event obtained permits from year to year. The festival’s board and city officials felt a long term agreement would benefit both sides, they said.
The agreement is for five years and will automatically renew for a total of 25 years, ending in 2038, as long as neither side decides to terminate it before then.
City directors were agreeable to the contract, but asked for the additional clause to be added when two people spoke about secondhand smoke at festivals.
“I am a true fan and supporter of Riverfest … but last year I did not attend,” said Katherine Donald, executive director at Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas. “The reason for that actually is the amount of smoking, to be quite frank with you.”
She said she was once burned when a smoker in the crowd accidentally threw his cigarette on her arm, and that another time, a cigar smoker stood uncomfortably close, leading her to leave her prime spot on a hill where she had sat to enjoy the breeze between shows.
Another speaker, Joe Arnold, asked the board to include in the contract the provision that Riverfest adhere to the no-tobacco policy in public parks and a requirement that organizers make stage announcements about the rule.
Under the agreement, Riverfest has authority over the park and its use during the three-day festival and wouldn’t necessarily have to abide by rules that govern the public parks, Chief Deputy City Attorney Bill Mann told city directors. Mann suggested the board approve the contract as written and encourage the festival’s organizers to adopt the no-tobacco policy in their list of rules required to be sent to the city 10 days before the event.
Ward 6 City Director and Vice Mayor Doris Wright noted that the city would have no leverage to enforce the policy if it had already approved the contract, so Assistant City Manager Bryan Day suggested adding a statement into the contract that would require all city park policies and rules to be followed during the festival.
Riverfest Executive Director DeAnna Korte told the board she was agreeable to that. There’s already language in the festival’s brochures and on its website that mentions the smoke-free policy, she said. There are also signs at the designated children’s area and sponsor tent that say no smoking, and the rule is mentioned between performances during stage announcements already, she added.
“As far as going up to people with 100,000 people [present] and removing cigarettes out of someone’s mouth and hand, that’s a different thing to do,” she told the board. “But we do ask our security and police to assist us with this. It is in place.”
Mayor Mark Stodola asked Korte to inform the event’s volunteers of the policy and tell them that they also can ask people to get rid of cigarettes.
Other provisions in the contract include a new $1 park-usage fee per ticket that Riverfest is required to collect and turn over to the city to be spent on improvements to or the operation of the downtown parks. Korte said there is no plan for ticket prices to increase to accommodate the new fee and added that she thinks it’s a great addition that will aid updates to city parks.
The music, food and arts festival will take place May 23-25 this year. Top performers include Easton Corbin, Lee Brice, CeeLo Green, Jamey Johnson, Three Days Grace, Hank Williams Jr. and Buckcherry. Tickets are $35 at the gate or $22 if purchased beforehand at Walgreens stores until the limited number of discounted tickets runs out.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/16/2014