During Eureka Springs City Council’s July 24 meeting, resident and bookstore owner Karen Lindblad implored aldermen to not approve a temporary entertainment district resolution that Eureka Springs Rotary was requesting for Oktoberfest, Sept. 29 and 30, but her request was denied by a 5-1 vote.
The district includes the parking lot across from New Delhi Café, as well as the intersection of Spring and Main Sts., and up Spring to Center St., including Basin Park. It would not require closing any streets.
The Rotary Beer Garden will be open only on Saturday, Sept. 30 in the parking lot across from New Delhi Café.
Lindblad described the area as “crazy” and said that Rotary should be allowed Center St., and no more. She said that Spring Street is the main artery through town and “if you do anything on Spring Street, you’ll affect businesses in a really bad way.” She added that people drinking would be an impediment to traffic and noted that a permanent entertainment district had been voted down some years ago.
Aldermen took a few minutes to discuss the resolution, with alderman Melissa Greene asking how many temporary entertainment district permits had been given out. Mayor Butch Berry said it would either be the second or third district with the last one awarded before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greene admitted entertainment districts were a “hot topic” but that if city doesn’t try it “we won’t know if it’s a bad idea.” She said she didn’t think requests for these districts would be happening often and that she was willing to allow Rotary to try it.
Alderman Terry McClung agreed, and alderman Autumn Slane pointed out Rotary was discussing how to handle cleanup and having plenty of trash receptacles.
Alderman Harry Meyer was the only dissenting vote, saying that previous districts had been on Center St. and that should be the extent of the district.
Other Items
- Public Works Director Simon Wiley gave council an update on the city’s efforts to deal with water leaks. He said one company had responded to bid requests at a price of $30,000 but that leak detection would not begin until October. The company will only work to detect leaks while Public Works will be responsible for fixing them.
- 2342 that increases water rates by 25 percent passed third and final reading with Slane voting No in a 5-1 vote.
- 2343 to amend the fee structure for street and alley vacations, allowing the city to keep half of the $200 application fee for publishing public hearing notices passed second reading unanimously.
- Parks, Cemetery, and CAPC staff spoke to council on responses to the 2021 legislative audit and how each department was employing solutions to avoid future issues with the audit team.
- Richard Williams and Karolyn Rogers of Alpena spoke on the Scout Wind Energy Farm outside of Green Forest, asking for council’s support in the Quorum Court drafting county zoning laws. They offered to speak to aldermen after the meeting if they had any questions on the wind farm and its possible negative impacts.