Chief says data from entertainment district isn’t as simple as it seems

Eureka Springs officials say data from the first month of the city’s trial run of a downtown entertainment district reflect more positives than negatives.

Much of the data involving public safety can easily be misconstrued, however, according to Eureka Springs Police Chief Billy Floyd.

“The context is there’s not really a good context,” Floyd said.

Members of the Eureka Springs City Council were provided with copies of the report at the council’s regular meeting Monday, Aug. 10, detailing statistics on the first month of the 90-day trial that is set to expire Sept. 30.

The report includes information on visitor activity, public safety, municipal operations and the direct economic impact of the district.

“The City of Eureka Springs has released its preliminary review of the first 30 days of the Downtown Entertainment District’s planned 90-day trial,” the city’s website says. “Initial results show positive visitor and mobility activity, mixed citywide public-safety data, limited impacts specifically recorded within the district, and manageable effects on municipal operations.”

Parking sessions and transit riders increased, according to the report. The mayor’s office said “no direct” complaints were received regarding the district.

Meanwhile, sales tax was up 10.8 percent in July year-over-year, but “receipt timing predates the trial-period activity and direct merchant-period July data are not yet available,” the city website says.

Comparing data involving public safety from the first month of the trial district to the same month in 2025 is misleading, Floyd said.

The report shows that public intoxication charges in the city increased from one in 2025 to nine in 2026, while domestic battery charges increased from one to five, leaving the scene of an accident charges went from one to four, driving while intoxicated charges dropped from five to four, open container charges went from one to two and disorderly conduct charges stayed the same at two for the month.

However, the data presented regarding police activity is from citywide activity and not specific to the downtown area, the chief said, adding that when considering only downtown numbers, public intoxication charges would be “like two or three.”

“And that’s not uncommon,” Floyd said. “… How many more incidents do we have as opposed to last year? Well, we didn’t have an entertainment district last year, so nothing was demographed into downtown.”

The reality isn’t as negative as the report indicates, the chief added.

“Looking at the numbers from the first 30 days, that jump in public intox arrests from one to nine is more of a sign of my officers being proactive, rather than a sign that downtown is suddenly out of control,” Floyd said, adding that his department has seen an uptick in public intoxication calls in other parts of the city in the past year with an increase in individuals with addiction issues. “When you start with a baseline of just one incident, any small increase looks huge on a chart. There have been months in the past where we are more active.

“It is honestly too early to tell if these numbers are a direct result of the new district, standard bar traffic, or just a busy summer event calendar.”

Any incident downtown has been treated just as it would have been handled in previous months, Floyd said.

“When looking at these incidents, we don’t see if these folks were actually utilizing the district’s outdoor cups, or if these were just standard, isolated bar issues,” he said.

Judging anything using 30-day statistics can be misleading, Floyd said.

“There’s so many things that can change the demographics that I think really looking at anything on a 30-day trial period is just spinning your wheels,” he said.

In municipal operations, the city saw a “modest” increase in trash volume, no increased reports of litter, and no maintenance issues. It’s unclear from the report if the municipal information is based on downtown activity only, or citywide data.

The report states that for the remainder of the 90-day trial, district-specific geographic numbers are the goal, specifically when it comes to data from police, fire and EMS.

“The preliminary report supports completing the full 90-day trial with continued weekend safety and compliance monitoring,” the overall 30-day report states. “During the remaining 60 days, the City will work to improve district-specific incident reporting, compliance tracking, business feedback, sanitation data and other measures needed for a more complete final evaluation.”

FLOYD: SPRING ST. EXPANSION ‘MORE WORKABLE’

Floyd said he will remain “resistant” to expanding the district to all areas of downtown, but would be open to some increases in the district’s footprint.

He stressed, though, that he will have his department enforce any boundaries that the council approves for the district.

“If the council decides [the district] is all the way down to the train station, then that’s what we’ll enforce,” the chief said.

At the Aug. 10 council meeting, a number of residents and business owners discussed signage that marks the end of the current entertainment district, saying that many downtown visitors are assuming that also means the end of any shopping or restaurants and are turning around.

“While I strongly support initiatives that drive local commerce in Eureka Springs, the district’s current boundaries are creating unintended challenges for nearby businesses,” said Christina Piasecki, owner of Brews at 2 Pine St., just off Spring Street. “Initially my primary concern with being excluded was liability, specifically preventing patrons from walking in and out with alcohol, especially as a newer permit holder subject to regular ABC compliance checks.

“However, after the first month of this temporary trial, the financial impact has become my primary concern at Brews. Drawing foot traffic past Mountain Street is already difficult due to the residential feel of the block. Now a sign that says you are leaving the district creates a literal barrier prompting visitors to turn back. July through September are some of the critical revenue months that sustain our business through the winter slump. Yet, being the owner of Brews, my business is down 30 percent this July. We were doing great up until this month, and I fear what the next two months of this temporary trial period will look like, revenue-wise.

“I’ve spoken to several other businesses beyond the border, and they’re all showing a significant decrease in revenue.”

Piasecki asked the council to consider expanding the district to help the excluded businesses.

“I ask that council consider expanding the boundary to include all downtown businesses sooner rather than later,” she said. “I’ve got very little hope that that will happen for many reasons, including pushback from the fire and police chiefs regarding safety issues like crosswalks and lack of police personnel, but a very successful person once told me that if you’re going to present someone with a problem, at least provide a suggested solution.”

Floyd said that while his opinion hasn’t changed regarding increasing the district’s footprint on Main Street because it is a state highway, he is more receptive to increasing the district up Spring Street.

“… Dealing with open containers on a busy state highway is simply too much of a safety hazard,” Floyd said. “Shifting the focus up Spring Street toward Brews, Rogue’s Manor and the Palace Hotel is definitely a more workable alternative.

“Even so, we still have to look closely at pedestrian safety, traffic flow, and how a larger footprint affects our patrol routes.”

In the end, Floyd again stressed that the footprint of a potential permanent district isn’t his decision to make.

“Ultimately, the future and the final size of this district is entirely up to the city council,” he said. “My department’s role right now is just to stay diligent, watch the data objectively, and give the council the safety facts they need to make the right decision for the community.”

Until a decision is made on possibly expanding the district, Mayor Butch Berry told council members that signage will be changed in the area to say that alcohol isn’t allowed past the district boundary.

“I think that’s going to get the same point across, as opposed to ‘the entertainment district ends here,’ which is kind of a misnomer because people may think, ‘well, this is where the fun stops or starts,’ ” Berry said. “We know that’s not true.

“I wish there was a way that I could go back and make right what’s happened in the past, but we obviously can’t correct the past. All we can do is go forward, and so the best thing that the city is doing right now is changing the signage for that.”

OTHER COUNCIL ITEMS

The council approved advertising for bids for an abstractor to determine what properties are owned by the city.

“I think it’s probably a good time to be hiring an abstractor and find out what we own in town,” council member Harry Meyer said.

Berry indicated that the information likely already exists and hiring an abstractor would be costly.

“I mean it’s up to the council if you want to spend the money, but … it gets expensive doing an abstract on all city properties,” Berry said.

Meyer responded: “I guess that the cost of it would be justified if we found some valuable property that no one knew belonged to the city.”

In the end, the council unanimously approved soliciting a bid to have such a study completed.

Council member Rachael Moyer continued to encourage residents who receive a Low- and Moderate-Income household survey to complete it.

“If the survey is successful and the service area’s LMI percentages do qualify the city, the city could receive from half a million to $1 million worth of funding for specific infrastructure projects in this service area,” Moyer said. “So, if you receive a survey, please fill it out.”

The council also approved the appointments of Danny Watson to the City Advertising and Promotion Commission and Michael Welch to the Cemetery Commission.