By T. Scott Boatright
In a brief meeting lasting only 18 minutes, moving to continue plans to potentially allow alcohol to be served at Events Center events for the primary order of business for the Lincoln Parish Library (LPL) Board of Control as it held its July meeting Thursday in the Jack Beard Community room of the library.
Events Center Committee Chair Bill Jones said that his committee is meeting at 5 p.m. Aug. 5 at the LPL and urged all board members to attend that meeting to give any input or insight they might have on the matter.
During its June meeting, the Board approved a motion to open discussions with the Lincoln Parish Police Jury to ask the LPPJ to possibly amend one of its ordinances to allow the use of alcoholic beverages at the Library’s Event Center.
Currently, a Police Jury ordinance prohibits the use of alcoholic beverages on LPPJ property, which includes the LPL and Events Center.
The LPL Board motion approved last month stipulated that the Events Center Committee is instructed to handle those discussions with the Police Jury and to report back to the Board the result of those discussions with the Police Jury; and that before it meets with the appropriate representatives of the Police Jury, the Events Center Committee should develop proposed regulations governing the use of alcoholic beverages at the Events Center and ask the Police Jury and its legal counsel for input and approval of such proposed regulations.
“We need to talk about and come up with proposed policies in the event that the Jury approves a request to amend the ordinance,” Jones said during Thursday’s Board meeting. “It’s officially an Events Center Committee meeting but I’d love for all the other Board members if they can, to come, because we want to handle this issue thoroughly and correctly.
“It will be a public hearing, and I know that some people want to come, but not a lot, so there will be some public comments, which is good. That’s why we set it out more than two weeks ahead. We’ll post an agenda next week.”
During his monthly financial report, LPL director Jeremy Bolom pointed out that Events Center income was low over the past month.
“We had been running higher but it kind of stalled,” Bolom said. “But it’s the middle of summer and that tends to happen this time of year. By the end of August, I expect it to pick back up again.”
But even with lower Events Center income in recent weeks, the LPL’s budget remains in good shape.
“We’re good with our budget,” Board President Jan Canterbury said. “We’re keeping that right on track and that’s good. That’s something people always want to know about.”
