LOWELL -- A proposal to sell alcohol during events held at city parks failed for a third time Tuesday during a City Council meeting.
Mayor Eldon Long didn't break a 4-4 tie between council members. The motion to approve the proposal needed a simple majority.
"I have been approached by 25 to 30 people on this issue," Long said before the vote. "I have never heard anything favorable. It is definitely an icy ordinance."
Thomas Evers, Lonnie Jones, Eric Schein and Linda Vannoy voted against the ordinance. Delia Ingle, Kendell Stucki, Dean Bitner and David Adams voted in favor.
The proposal would have allowed for alcohol to be sold at events in the park. Event planners would need approval from the council before to selling alcohol.
A proposal to sell alcohol during the city's Mudtown Days festival held in May failed with a tie vote in February. A similar proposal also failed in April.
Two people spoke against the ordinance and one in favor.
"This, in effect, will give our blessings on the consumption of intoxicating beverages," Leon Estes, a resident, said. "It doesn't matter whether every single town surrounding us permits such an ordinance in their city limits. Do we want this to be the norm for our city?"
Chris Moore, a Lowell business owner, said he was in favor of the ordinance. He said supporting beer and wine sales during events would support a growing micro-brewery scene in the region.
"I do not drink," Moore said. "But it is something we could approve and bring more and more into this area."
Lonnie Jones, council member, asked why the issue kept coming forward to the council.
"I can't imagine this being for the city of Lowell," Jones said. "I think it is for somebody. Someone is going to continue sending it to us until it finally passes."
Dean Bitner, council member, has spearheaded two of the three ordinances before the council.
"It is a benefit to the city," Bitner said. "It would help build the festivals and grow the city. We are talking about a controlled environment with a police presence and a fence."
The February ordinance failed on a 4-4 vote with Evers, Lonnie Jones, Eric Schein and Conner Jones voting against it. Keith Williams, Stucki, Bitner and David Adams voted in favor of the ordinance.
Conner Jones and Williams have since resigned from the board after moving out of the city. Delia Ingle replaced Conner Jones and Linda Vannoy took Williams' position.
Cities in Benton County are facing the decision to allow alcohol sales at community events. Benton County voters approved off-premises sale of alcohol in November 2012. Alcohol could only be sold at members-only private clubs before that.
Rogers started allowing the sale of alcohol at community events in 2013. Main Street Rogers started the Oktoberfest the same year. The event was created around the idea of selling beer. It attracted 1,000 people the first year and 4,000 its second year, said Dana Mather, the organization's former director.
NW News on 07/22/2015