By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
After lengthy discussion about a proposed ordinance that would establish an entertainment destination center within the city’s downtown area, the Glasgow Common Council unanimously approved a motion to hold off a vote on the first reading of the ordinance until some tweaking to the wording gets done.
The council did, however, move forward two municipal orders and first readings of two other proposed ordinances.
The first of those two ordinances would rezone approximately 4.434 acres at 2455 New Bowling Green Road (U.S. 68-Ky. 80) from light industrial (I-1) to highway service business (B-3). The rezoning was sought by Newcomb Oil for the purpose of constructing a FiveStar convenience store/gas station with the possibility of having another business on an out lot. Two readings of any ordinance must be approved before it can become local law.
The other ordinance that got its first of two required nods would provide for budget amendments. The changes would include appropriating and/or moving between accounts a total of $780,000 toward the construction of a farmers market, receipt of bond-sale proceeds of nearly $5.4 million for the American Legion Park overhaul, and receipt and appropriation of $100,000 in federal grant money for green infrastructure stormwater analysis.
The first of the municipal orders reappointed Victoria Hunley to the Entertain Glasgow Committee for another year, and the second appointed Danielle Cashion as the city clerk effective March 1. Cashion has worked in the administrative offices of the city for three years.
The current city clerk, Mona Simmons, is retiring after being employed by the city for 18 years. A retirement reception for her is scheduled for noon Friday in Council Chambers in the Luska J. Twyman Municipal Building (formerly known and still reflected on signage, for now, as Glasgow City Hall).
Also during the meeting, Kevin Myatt, planning director for the Joint City-County Planning Commission of Barren County, spoke about a meeting planned for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Council Chambers to inform and get feedback from members of the community regarding an urban housing initiative. Glasgow News 1 is reporting more on that separately.
Entertainment destination center
As soon as the council approached the point in the agenda for the possible entertainment destination center, Councilman Terry Bunnell said that, after reviewing the current version of the proposed ordinance and speaking with the city administrator, the police chief and the city attorney, “It’s my view there are some issues that need to be cleaned up in this ordinance before we formally consider passing it.”
He made a motion to postpone a vote on the actual ordinance and asked for April Russell, the city administrator, to address any questions.
Russell passed around a draft version of the rules to be followed for the program and said, “We’ve been working on this for a while, several months,” she said, with the idea being that it would help with economic and tourism development while also allowing for better control of alcohol use in the downtown area, including at city events like concerts.
Essentially, the proposed ordinance would establish a specific area to be dubbed an entertainment destination center, and in that area, patrons of local participating vendors who sell alcoholic beverages could take their drinks with them as they stroll around other portions of the designated area, perhaps shopping as they go. These beverages would have to be in a specific type of cup approved by the city. The accompanying map, as it is now, would include roughly 13 city blocks in the designated area, with the Plaza Theatre, Drink N Game, AJ’s Place Bar & Grill, Yancey’s Gastropub and Brewery, and Shogun as the participating vendors. Also, Yancey’s and Bluegrass Vineyard, because they are Kentucky Proud producers of alcoholic beverages, would be able to take their wares to locations within this area to sell them, and other vendors could set up carts at other locations as well, provided they have permission from those other locations.
The city itself would apply for an entertainment destination center license from the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and participating vendors that already have a license to sell such beverages by the drink would have to have an agreement with the city to abide by the established rules.
Signage would be posted to allow those individuals participating to know where the boundaries of the area are. The option would only be in effect for certain hours, Russell said, and they originally had gone with 5 p.m. to midnight Thursdays and Fridays and 11 a.m. to midnight. After speaking with people from other cities that have an EDC who suggested they cut it off before midnight – maybe 9 or 10 p.m. – they were going to revisit that part, for one thing.
Councilwoman Marna Kirkpatrick asked several questions about details such as provision of security, types of events, license revocation options, liability concerns and more.
Councilman Freddie Norris asked, “Who’s the ‘we’ that’s been working on this?”
Russell said that in addition to herself, the police chief, the city treasurer, the ABC administrator, the tourism director, a couple of local business owners, the city attorney and Myatt were among those who had been in on the discussions at various times.
Councilwoman Chasity Lowery asked about how certain wording is defined and asked about enforcement measures. Glasgow Police Department Chief Guy Howie said that would be done with a common-sense approach. For example, an officer could intervene if patrons are going to their vehicle to refill the cup there or if they are intoxicated enough to be causing a disturbance.
Bunnell said he supports the idea in concept, but he just wanted them to “tighten it up” to help resolve some of the questions like those being asked.
Russell said the plan was to make the ordinance effective July 1.
Mayor Henry Royse said he had asked Russell to provide a list of other cities that already have an EDC operating successfully, and she rattled off more than two dozen that she knew of so far, including Bowling Green, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, Morehead, Somerset, Danville, Paducah, Louisville, Lexington, Covington and Midway.
The mayor noted there was a wide variety of city sizes in that list, and he said he imagined that MacLean Lessenberry, executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist and Convention Commission, who was in the council-meeting audience, had probably seen the benefits of EDCs around the commonwealth.
“Absolutely,” she said. “Everyone that I’ve talked to, which is quite a few off of that list, has really encouraged it.”
She said she’s heard it brings more people, energy and life to downtown areas, and that some of the establishments that weren’t really onboard with the idea at the beginning had become enthusiastic about it.
The first reading for the proposed ordinance is now expected to take place at the March 10 council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.
