Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Committee Seeks Citywide ‘Wet’ Status
PRAIRIE GROVE —A committee called Historic Prairie Grove Revitalization is seeking once again to place a local option question on the November election ballot to allow the sale of alcohol within all of Prairie Grove city limits, according to Jerry Coyle, committee chairman.
Presently, an area of the city limits, one square mile mainly in the downtown section, is dry because of a vote held in 1946.
City Attorney Steven Parker said the city voted Sept. 10, 1946, on a question whether to allow the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors in the city limits. The vote was 66 in favor of the sale of alcohol and 106 votes against the question.
Any areas that were annexed into the city after this election came in as allowing the sale of alcohol.
Coyle said the committee tried to put the question on the November 2018 ballot but suspended the campaign because it ran out of time to get enough qualified signatures to place the question on the ballot.
“We had a late start,” Coyle said last week.
Coyle said the committee is trying to make the sale of alcohol even across the city, “from one side to the other.”
Gabriella’s Mexican Restaurant, for example, is able to offer alcoholic drinks at its new building on Heritage Parkway because that part of town is wet. In its previous location, the restaurant was in the dry part of town.
Petitions have been placed at different businesses downtown for people to sign who are registered voters within the city limits. A registered voter can only sign the petition one time, Coyle said.
He emphasized signing a petition is not a vote in favor of the question but is ” just giving people the opportunity to vote on it.”
Coyle said the committee has three other directors but he is the one doing most of the work. The other directors are Rick Ault, Mitch Martholonew and Mike Fidler.
Parker said the city of Prairie Grove is not involved in the campaign to gather signatures to place the question on the ballot. The initiative has to be from the people, Parker said.
Becky Lewellan, Washington County clerk, said the committee will be required to have signatures from 38% of registered voters as of June 1 of this year to meet the criteria for calling a local option election on the question.
As of March 17, the city of Prairie Grove had 4,552 registered voters, Lewellan said, meaning that if that number does not change before June 1, the committee must have signatures from at least 1,730 registered voters in Prairie Grove.
Lewellan said the committee has filed a copy of the petition with the county clerk’s office, as required by state law. The petition says the ballot question will be for or against the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors.
Seve ral downtown merchants said they support the initative to allow the sale of alcohol within all of the city limits.
Richard and Deidre Mays, owners of Magnolia Coffee House, said the shop would offer alcohol, most likely craft beer and maybe a few cocktails, if alcohol could be served in the downtown area.
“I think it’s a loss of revenue for the city as a whole,” said Richard Mays.
Deidre Mays said she believes it would attract more visitors to the downtown area, especially on the weekends, and could be an incentive for someone interested in opening a business in the area.
Shannon Stearman, who owns Crescent Store and is vice president of Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce, said she believes it would add to the downtown area.
“I think it would help downtown,” Stearman said. “I don’t think it would hurt.”
According to a map from the city of Prairie Grove, the dry portion of Prairie Grove includes Pittman Street, part of Buchanan Street in the downtown area and about four blocks away from Buchanan in the downtown area.