Bentonville ready for film festival

BENTONVILLE -- City officials aren't sure what to expect for the first Bentonville Film Festival, but they feel prepared.

The five-day festival starts today and is expected to draw 30,000 to 50,000 people to the city, according to officials' estimates.

The festival will feature more than 50 films, special events and a sponsor village. Events will be in various locations in Northwest Arkansas, with the majority in Bentonville.

"We expect the best, but prepare for the worst," Mayor Bob McCaslin said.

McCaslin has a 103-page book of notes regarding the city's role for the festival. City departments, especially police and fire, have addressed every aspect they could, he said.

The main concern is public safety, as an event this size could cause safety issues, McCaslin said. The city will have the appropriate resources at all the festival events while maintaining normal police and fire presence in the city, he said.

City officials started to plan for the film festival after it was announced in January, said Kevin Boydston, deputy chief with the Fire Department.

One of the first steps was to contact police, fire and emergency management services in Park City, Utah, to see what wisdom they could impart from having dealt with the Sundance Film Festival, the country's largest independent cinema festival.

There will be an emergency operations command center downtown that will include representatives from fire, police, EMS and the festival, Boydston said. Traffic and weather will be monitored there.

Officials also will hold a briefing each morning to address issues this week and to take notes for future festivals, he added.

There also will be two extra employees at three stations in anticipation of an increase in EMS calls this week, Boydston said. There will be two EMS bike teams in operation. One largely will focus on the sponsor village at Compton Gardens.

Fire marshals have been busy the last couple of weeks working with restaurants to make sure their fire code and occupancy limits are up to date. Building occupancy is based on square footage and the number of tables, how they are laid out and how much standing room there is, Boydston said.

"We want everyone to prosper during this, but in a safe manner," he said.

Kelli Pinnock, Tavola general manager, said she expects the downtown restaurant to have a 25 percent increase in business during the festival. Extra food has been ordered and more staff will work to accommodate the extra business, she said.

"We're quite full on weeknights anyway," Pinnock said. "I think we'll be on a longer wait. I think (business) might start earlier and last longer."

Tavola doesn't accept reservations, but Pinnock people can call with priority seating requests.

"We're excited to have the film festival here and see what kind of business it brings," she said.

Hotel rooms for Friday and Saturday night are limited in the city, but rooms are still available for tonight through Thursday nights, said Kalene Griffith, Visit Bentonville CEO and president.

Anywhere between five and 30 rooms are available during the week depending on the hotel, she said.

Many rooms in town also have been booked by people attending a wedding or who are in town for the University of Arkansas' graduation this weekend, said Blair Cromwell, vice president of communications.

"It's hard to gauge who is here for what, but it's a good problem to have," she said.

Residents can expect to see an increase of police officers, as well, this week.

The Police Department will extend some officers' shifts from 8 to 12 hours to help cover the festival activity, said Jon Simpson, police chief.

There is also a private security company that will provide personnel, Simpson said.

"I know they're still adding them as of today so it'd be hard to say," he said Monday of how many private security officers they'll be.

More people in town will create more traffic, which could lead to an increase in accidents as well as general calls for service, Simpson said. People should give themselves more time to get to where they're going this week and be courteous when there are traffic tie-ups, he said.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to make this community as safe as it always is, and we've got the extra help to do that," Simpson said.

Overtime that the departments use for providing security and safety to the festival will be paid for by the festival, McCaslin said. It is the same for any other event hosted in the city that requires city services, he said.

Police overtime could reach $40,000, he said, adding that he didn't have an anticipated figure for the fire department.

Officials feel adequately prepared but had to get up to speed quickly considering there hasn't been an event like this before in the city, they said.

"Planning was short for something this size," McCaslin said. "We've had to scramble."

The event will be good for the city in creating extra revenue through sales tax in restaurants and hotels, and it could bring in more tourism, he said.

McCaslin emphasized the city's efforts to keep both residents and festival attendees safe. He acknowledged that some will be more inconvenienced than others.

NW News on 05/05/2015