Alderman Susane Gruning opened the discussion of a 90-day trial period for the proposed Social District, nee Permanent Entertainment District, at the June 8 city council meeting. Mayor Butch Berry clarified that in legal matters, they would refer to it as a Permanent Entertainment District in accordance with the language within state law. The Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce’s tourism committee had reworked the proposal after the community forum and meetings with Police Chief Billy Floyd and Public Works Director Simon Wiley; reducing the district’s end-time from 10 to 8 p.m. and narrowing the footprint of the map.
Gruning highlighted benefits of holding a trial period, noting that if the district goes to ballot, it could pass containing criteria written under assumption rather than being informed by data. Chamber Marketing Coordinator Devin Henderson was there to discuss the trial period and revised plan, along with Kolin Paulk of Spring on Main.
Henderson reported that feedback had been taken from the community forum held on May 20 and an application was submitted to the city, where it was denied by the police chief. The chamber and committee then sat down with Floyd and Wiley to discuss adjustments. The revised plan reduces the timeframe to end before dark, the district to a smaller area, and would begin July 1 – running through the end of September.
Alderman Harry Meyer raised his concerns and his voice, demanding the Chamber provide a poll survey of downtown retailers while addressing risks of underage drinking. Meyer said that Parks employees had found beer bottles in Basin Spring Park after the Blues Party Festival and suggested that event organizers did not have a hold on attendees.
Henderson replied that it seemed people were confusing special events with the social district. “The social district in general doesn’t bring amplified beer bottles,” he said and expressed interest in looking at police data from Blues weekend. “This is the same footprint that council has approved many times. This is just an extended period with the purpose of collecting data,” he emphasized.
Alderman David Avanzino asked why the Chamber didn’t gather signatures on a petition to place it on the ballot. Henderson responded that EDs had been a council decision every time and is in their purview. “This isn’t a ballot issue – this is technically a council issue. We took the proper process that everyone else takes to get these passed. We showed up to council. We’ve held community forums, we’ve gotten feedback, we’ve talked to the downtown merchants’ association, so we’re just trying to follow this process right along,” said Henderson.
Avanzino pointed to the last PED initiative’s ballot defeat. “The appearance is that you want to overrule the voting power of our citizens and just have us up here vote on this district.”
Henderson described that the Chamber witnessed member Kolin Paulk in civic meetings trying to secure a district and decided to facilitate the ongoing discussion. They put it to the tourism subcommittee, that began a working draft. After receiving “an overwhelming response” from the business community to be included, they tried to include the entire downtown district to encourage people to walk further down Main and Spring Streets, where shops were closing permanently.
“It’s not as if we would have thought it egregious to follow this process,” Henderson said. “There’s nothing sinister going on here. My office door’s open all the time. Anybody can come into my office and ask me questions. We’ve been transparent and open this whole time. There’s been a lot of miscommunications going around that things are trying to be done secretively – it’s just not true. We live here; I bring my children downtown. I don’t want Eureka to be a bad place to bring my children, I would never set out for that – none of us would. We’ve all got the best of intentions.”
Alderman Rachael Moyer commented: “Our community’s done exactly what’s supposed to happen, actually. It’s being framed right now that doing what you’ve done is somehow taking away from community voices to vote. I think that’s the wrong framing. I’ve attended all the community discussions on the proposed district. I have a PhD in public policy. I believe in evidence-based policymaking, and I’ve been doing that for ten years or more.
“Major policy questions involve looking at the trade-offs. It’s a very technical thing. And by the way, the role of all these people at this table – is to make policy. So, one could say that by pushing it to the ballot and letting people who don’t have all of the information make the choice is actually a wrong one. That’s another perspective.
“My personal opinion, for whatever it matters, is that the Chamber of Commerce and the individuals that have worked with the chamber – the chief of police, the director of Public Works, the mayor – all of these people who’ve put in a lot of time and effort into looking at this issue, are doing our work actually.
“In a workshop, we would be looking at all of these technical tradeoffs and having these conversations. Instead, we have deferred it to the Chamber of Commerce to do our work. The least we can do is listen with respect.
“Making policy in this way weakens democratic accountability for the people you’ve elected to do this job. That’s me. I take it very seriously. I sit here as an objective technician and I am interested in making evidence-based policy – not calling names, not making accusations.”
Meyer began to interrupt Moyer, who stopped him from doing so and continued addressing Henderson about a plan for data collection.
Henderson responded that Colton Scrivner, also a PhD, was heading up the data operation in collaboration with Floyd to look at underage drinking, over-intoxication, fights, and driving incidents (DUIs). Gruning added that the hospital had agreed to share data. Moyer recommended creating an ad hoc committee to evaluate data and key performance indicators that would automatically dissolve once reporting was complete.
Paulk explained the start time in July was intended to give enough time to contact all the businesses, get wristbands printed, make sure QR codes work, and produce non-participation window decals at minimal cost. He also said that they did not want to exclude anybody, and the district could be expanded in phases.
Avanzino said he received a phone call from a council member who suggested he recuse himself from this matter, and that although he disagreed, noted there are four members at the table with a potential conflict of interest.
“I feel the only way to move forward with this is, is to put it on the November ballot and let the people’s voices be heard at the ballot box.” He then motioned to place the PED on the November ballot. Alderman Steve Holifield seconded.
Avanzino argued that council had had “ample opportunity” to come up with a plan, the clock was ticking, and that every single resident he hears from is opposed to the district.
Alderman Terry McClung said he can’t arbitrarily vote for anything. “If it takes forever then it takes forever,” he stated. Moyer iterated, “This is what policy making looks like. It’s hard. It takes a long time. It takes consensus. Sometimes you rearrange it and change it. Sometimes you abandon the original ideas, and you go with something completely different.”
Avanzino responded that the consensus of the citizens is a “solid no.” Holifield said he’d heard from both sides, but that both want it to go to the ballot and said it feels like its overriding citizens’ votes. Gruning concurred that she is also hearing from both sides but asked how voters could give an informed vote without the information. “We don’t know until we collect data on it – so why are we so afraid to do that?”
Implementing both the trial period and the ballot placement was discussed with legal counsel, along with concern to meet the deadline for ballot placement (mid-July).
“We have to make the decision before we’ll have the data about whether to put it on the ballot, but the people who go to the ballot in November would have information about how it performed if we did the trial,” Moyer clarified.
Meyer motioned to table the discussion until further details were attained in writing. His motion to table overrode Avanzino’s prior motion to vote on ballot placement, and the issue was tabled.