CAMDEN — As the city council considers establishing an entertainment district, which would relax open container laws for alcohol in certain parts of Camden, members of the community are voicing their opinions both for and against the proposal.
Camden News conducted an online poll via Facebook and asked readers “Do you support the proposal for an Entertainment District in Camden?” and invited them to reply in the comment section. As of Monday, 969 readers participated in the poll, with 810 being in favor and 159 opposing the ordinance.
Below are a few of the responses:
Willie Bivins — “Yes I would support the entertainment district, It will bring more jobs, boost the economy , and improve the livelihood of the city. Also some improvements on the beautiful riverfront Will also be a big boost to the cities economy.. Camden is sitting on a gold mine that needs and should be utilized……”
Brandi Yeager — “Yes! Anything that could encourage more involvement within the community and bring people to Camden is a plus.
“Will there be kinks to work out? Of course. They can be handled, ordinances amended, and different arrangements made. However, the potential good outweighs the potential bad. Other towns have done this with much success. Is Camden not worth trying to revive?
“All most people have done is degrade our town ever since the Paper Mill closed. The same ones who complain that there is nothing to do here are the same ones against an entertainment district. Either invest in the future of our city and do what you can to make it a better place for our kids or stop complaining.”
Tongia Gaston — “Sounds like we already ‘unofficially’ have an entertainment district. My vote is no. Why open the doors for more disrespect? This is NOT going to HELP Camden.”
Dottie Mayton — “Are the events going to be “adult only” or will children be running around down there, too? We probably aren’t going to attract a lot of out of towners coming in to spend their money. We need real businesses, not an open air bar.”
David Newman — “This is not entertainment. Sounds more like you want you’re own bourbon street. If you wanna build Camden up do something for the kids not that the public pool that’s open a few months out of the year isn’t nice and the skate board ramp isn’t wicked awesome but we spend most of are money driving out of town to take are kids to do real stuff like (go carts) (putt putt golf) (arcades) (movies) (laser tag) we have nothing for the kids and that’s where you’re problem is at. Kids are running the streets because they have nothing to do which eventually leads to them getting into trouble. You are literally only targeting bringing in more drunks except now they are going to drag their kids with them to help hold them up to walk over to the next booth. How about instead of voting in alcohol entertainment we vote in children entertainment instead.”
Alderman James Bell, who originally proposed the ordinance, provided answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the district, in order to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the proposal. Below is a Q&A that he posted on his personal Facebook page that provides more information about the proposed district.
What does this ordinance do?
It establishes an area in Downtown that will make it legal for people to have an alcoholic beverage outside of an established restaurant.
Will people be walking around with beer cans/bottles?
No. All alcoholic beverages must be in a paper or plastic cup, no larger than 16 oz, branded with the logo of the establishment/event where they purchased the beverage. A person may only have 1 beverage at a time.
So a lot of people will be walking around drunk?
This ordinance does not absolve a person of their duty to drink responsibly. Anyone can still be arrested for public intoxication or drunk and disorderly. This simply allows responsible individuals to enjoy an adult beverage and socialize outside the confines of a restaurant/other establishment.
Will the police be there to patrol?
Yes. The police leadership have expressed their support for the Entertainment District. They have said that they can patrol the area currently set aside for it.
Will this raise our taxes?
No. Most of the expenses would be carried by the businesses that participate. This would include expenses like the cost of the cups.
Why do this?
This ordinance was created to build on the success of our current restaurants and events in Downtown Camden. The goal is to give our downtown merchants and event planners more flexibility to creatively promote and attract customers to shop and spend in our downtown. The hope is that with more money being spent, this will encourage new development/investment.
Also, this is being done to help attract and retain many of the young professionals that come to our town. Young people have proven that they like these type of districts. Currently, when a group of friends wish to visit a place like this, their only option is to leave town and with it, revenue for our businesses and tax dollars for our city that could be put towards improving services, repaving roads, or even lowering the tax rates.
I would like to say that establishing an Entertainment District will not magically “fix” our town. It is another piece in the puzzle that when combined with ongoing efforts underway, can potentially help to establish more nightlife options making the area more attractive to investment in other sectors such as retail.
When will this happen?
The final vote for the Entertainment District will be held at the November City Council Meeting on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at City Hall. If you would like to see Camden move forward with this, contact your Alderman and encourage them to support it. You can also come to the meeting and speak for it during the Audience Participation section during the meeting.