SILOAM SPRINGS -- City board members voted 6-1 against creating a temporary entertainment district in downtown Siloam Springs.
Directors Reid Carroll, Bob Coleman and Carol Smiley all said they received the largest amount of input from residents on the issue than on any other they have heard. Several residents, some of whom own downtown restaurants and some who don't, came to City Hall to voice their opinions.
The proposal came about during the directors' comments portion of the April 21 meeting. During the meeting Director Brad Burns broached the subject of the district to help restaurants who have had shortfalls during the coronavirus pandemic.
Several downtown restaurants, such as Cafe on Broadway, Fratelli's, Tintos & Tapas, and 28 Springs, don't have outdoor seating and the proposal would have allowed those restaurants to serve alcohol to people who wish to sit outside of one the restaurants and have dinner on tables set up on the sidewalk.
Burns cited Arkansas Act 812, which passed in April 2019, to promote hospitality and tourism, according to a staff report prepared by Don Clark, community development director. Arkansas Act 812 allows Arkansas cities to have a permanent or temporary designated entertainment district.
The proposed district was slated to be read one time with an emergency clause because it's designed to go into effect immediately to provide a boost to businesses. City staff researched the subject and solicited the opinion of the board during the May 5 meeting.
There were mixed reactions to the district, temporary or not. Smiley said May 5 she liked the idea and Director Lesa Rissler briefly warmed to it.
City staff wrote a proposal to allow people to purchase a cup from a restaurant with the restaurant's logo on it and carry that cup throughout the district, which would extend from Ziggywurst down to University Street, from University to Broadway Street and down the remainder of Broadway to Main Street.
Since the proposal allows people to carry alcohol from one business to another, the staff recommended against approving it, Clark said.
Several residents spoke for and against the ordinance. Sherri Norwood said she appreciated Burns' willingness to help businesses in town, but felt the proposal goes beyond just letting customers order a beer with their pizza or wine with their steak.
"A public drinking district would change the character of our downtown," Norwood said.
She also said the proposal should have been considered with care and not undertaken as an emergency measure. Norwood applauded city staff for other initiatives such as the library, splash pad and amphitheater, but said the city didn't consider the true cost on this issue. She recommended the city should have done a cost benefit analysis at least to determine if an entertainment district would have been right for the city.
Patty Arnett, one of the owners of Cafe on Broadway, said downtown restaurants have been struggling since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"In the time it would take to do a cost analysis," Arnett said. "I can tell you that the businesses downtown might shut their doors."
She said the district might make a real difference for restaurants such as Tintos & Tapas, Fratelli's and 28 Springs. Arnett also said the best part is the district would be a temporary measure so if it doesn't work out it wouldn't be forever.
Alma Sanchez, owner of Park House Kitchen+Bar, said she has been essentially running her own entertainment district at Park House for more than a year. Sanchez said she hadn't had any issues with people causing problems and never had police called because of fights.
She did have a few issues with proposal, though. Sanchez said she was concerned with insurance liability with her logo on a cup.
"A person buys my cup and they consume the one drink and then they have alcohol somewhere else that they are putting in that cup," Sanchez said. "I don't want to be liable for that."
Sanchez also asked how the proposed district would affect her insurance rates. She said she pays a lot of liability for her liquor license.
"I don't have anything bad about the entertainment district," Sanchez said. "I don't think we need it right now."
When it was the board's turn to comment, every director had something to say. Coleman, who went first, said 80 percent of the people he spoke to asked him to vote against the proposal.
Coleman said by calling propsal temporary, the board would be forcing it through with a single vote, which he believed would be denying many residents the right to make their feelings known on the subject. He said he doesn't agree with the single vote and doesn't see the emergency of it.
"I remind everybody that in 1913, the income tax was listed as a temporary item," Coleman said. "Check your date on the 15th of August or April or whenever it's due now to see if it's temporary."
Coleman also said the proposal only helps a small number of businesses. Other businesses such as barber shops, nail salons, dentists offices, chiropractors and physicians offices have only recently been able to open and under heavy restriction.
"Because of the fact this [prososal] does not affect most of our small businesses, I believe it is highly discriminatory and could result in litigation against the city," he said.
Burns said he was just doing city business, so he doesn't get emotional about it. Burns further said he isn't threatened by scare tactics or those types of things on social media. He said he appreciate dialogue where people can respectfully disagree.
Burns said he has brick and mortar businesses asking for help and this was a tool in the tool box. Burns said most people are waiting for the restrictions to lift and when that happens they roam. He said Siloam Springs is connected to the Interstate 49 corridor and Northwest Arkansas growth and development cannot be suppressed.
Burns went on to say no one says no to the Cherokee Casino & Hotel.
"You know how they make their dollars?" Burns asked. "By drinking and gambling, eating at a great buffet at a discount and all of those things."
He said the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce lists the casino as a gold member and Main Street Siloam Springs has never turned down a dollar from the casino. He said when people and businesses from Ward 2 reach out he will try to help them.
Director Marla Sappington reiterated Sanchez's concerns about insurance and what would happen if someone got into an accident and they found a cup with the Park House logo with remnants of alcohol in it. Sappington also said she isn't sure the revenue from alcohol sales would be enough to cover extra police for the district.
Rissler said she wants to keep the unique values of Siloam Springs. Carroll said while he would vote no, he wants to do something about it. Carroll said he didn't know what that was, but he said somebody else may have an idea that will bring the city from pandemic to glory.
"This community has the resolve to do what's necessary," Carroll said. "And continue to be a sign post, not only for this area, Northwest Arkansas, but also the world."
Director Mindy Hunt said she would vote no, but said most residents aren't opposed to people having a drink with their meals and if the proposal could be passed without creating a district, she thinks most would have been okay with it.
Smiley said she supported bringing up the district so it could be discussed and voted on. She said she wants to hear from everyone before she makes up her mind.
She said the city has businesses probably fighting for survival and that makes her sad, but she also has to think about what the majority of the residents said to her.
"I don't just represent a ward," Smiley said. "I represent everyone in Siloam Springs."
NW News on 05/27/2020