Rogers seeks direction in granting road closures

Carol Spurlock looked over an arrangement of fresh produce while visiting the Rogers Farmers Market on Saturday.

“I can smell the dill,” Spurlock, of Rolla, Mo., told the vendor.

Events like the farmers market are part of why Spurlock would like to move back to Arkansas and specifically to Rogers, she said. She said she often visits her father, who lives in Rogers, and spends a lot of time downtown.

The Rogers Farmers Market has operated out of parking lots in downtown for about 30 years, said Kimberly Scott, market manager. She said the event has recently started to grow quickly, and more space is needed.

“I am going to ask the city if they will allow me to close a street on Tuesday,” Scott said. “I have 12 vendors, and I have started to turn them down.”

It also is possible that food trucks could add to the event if there were more space, Scott said.

Rogers has seen an uptick in organizations wanting to close city streets and parking lots for events in recent years, City Attorney Chris Griffin said. This has prompted city officials to discuss updating codes pertaining to the issue.

“We don’t really have any provisions on this,” Griffin said. “What you can do with city property is murky. We really need to update our whole code book.”

The street closing process is not new to the city, Griffin said. Annual events such as Frisco Fest have been occurring in the city for some time, he said.

“Everyone knows what to expect with these events,” Griffin said. “There is more diversity in events now, and we don’t know what is all involved with them.”

Updating the code could include adding details regarding what is expected of event planners. It also could include a fee for for-profit businesses wanting to close streets and parking lots.

The city’s transportation committee has tabled consideration of applications for street closures for more than one event in recent months. Committee members often struggled to make decisions on the events with the limited information provided by the applicants, Griffin said.

The committee twice tabled the applications for an organization that asked to close a street for a 1,000-foot, temporary water slide. The for-profit company asked to close a road near Pinnacle Promenade in Rogers for a day. The event would have cost $15 to $60 a ticket depending on how many times someone played on the slide.

Committee members expressed concerns about the event being for-profit. They also questioned what the applicant would do about parking and food vendors.

“We have never closed down this street before, and we have never had a giant slide event,” Griffin said.

Griffin said the event raised a lot of questions the city has never addressed before. This included whether the city should close a busy street for a for-profit company. It also raised questions about public safety regarding traffic.

The applicant had been turned down in Fayetteville but has reapplied to have the water slide in that city.

Other events have sailed through the street closing process recently. That included a parking lot closing at First and Third streets for a for-profit bicycle “rodeo” held Saturday by GPP Cycling & Multisport.

The event was part of a week-long endurance camp held by the business, said Kevin Whaley, owner of the company. The company is based in Rogers but pulls people from all over the country for the event, he said. About 40 people were planning to attend.

“They learn biking skills and how to handle a bike better,” Whaley said. “Basically, this is to jump-start the triathlon season.”

Whaley said the event benefits the city. It draws people downtown who will visit the shops and eat in the restaurants, he said.

Mark Kruger, a council member who serves on the committee, said there is public interest in holding events downtown.

“We want to draw more people downtown and have all the businesses making more profit,” Kruger said. “We are trying different things. This may or may not work to enhance downtown.”

The committee has approved several for-profit events downtown recently, Kruger said. The committee will see how the events go and make a decision on whether they should be approved on an annual basis, he said.

City officials must weigh whether the benefits of closing streets and parking lots is worth the cost to taxpayers, Griffin said.

“If a lot of citizens are going to get a benefit and they feel that is a good trade-off, so be it,” he said.

Griffin said it’s possible the city may decide to implement a fee for closing streets to for-profit businesses.

There is not one solution to the issue because each event is unique, Griffin said. For instance, the water slide organizers wanted to close a busy street while the bike rodeo wanted to close a small parking lot.

“One is a parking lot verses a major road next to a major retail center,” Griffin said, referring to Pinnacle Promenade.

The benefit is more clear when the event is not giving a company a financial gain, he said.

Yet the transportation committee during its April 13 meeting tabled an application for a free gospel event downtown. At the same meeting, the bicycle rodeo was approved.

Jim Smith, the event applicant, said it would be the first time the gospel festival has been held. If approved, the festival would be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. May 30. The intersection at First and Elm streets would be closed.

“I was just sitting in church one morning and thought, ‘Hey, I think this is a good idea,’” Smith said. “I think it is something that would be good for the community and for the downtown area.”

After six months of planning, Smith said he has lined up musicians to perform at the event. Some details are still unknown.

“I have no idea how many people will show up,” Smith said. “I think if it was a really good day maybe 1,000.”

Griffin said the committee tabled the event because of lack of information. It has asked officials with Main Street Rogers to check with merchants downtown to see if they would have any concerns with the event. Main Street Rogers is a nonprofit organization that promotes downtown Rogers.

City officials also plan to create documents that will help event planners with the street and parking lot closure process in the future, Griffin said.

“We don’t want to crush the spirit of people wanting to hold events,” Griffin said. “I think people have gotten frustrated in the past.”

The documents would inform people wanting to hold events which departments they should check with before attending a committee meeting. The departments would help the event planners gather the proper information to present to the committee.

Griffin said city officials will also be looking at other issues, such as public safety. He said the code could include information on how much security should be at an event per attendee.

It could also require paramedics at certain events, such as races. Other issues could include restroom accommodations for events, Griffin said.

It could take the city about a year to update the code, Griffin said. Multiple departments will be a part of the process, he said.

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