A round of applause rose from the audience of the July 15 meeting of the Fortville Town Council as it passed a seemingly routine approval for a concert and marketing event for several businesses in town organized by BeLocal, but this meeting was anything but routine.
BeLocal, a magazine which, according to its website, is designed to help connect new residents to local businesses, presented on its proposed “Visit the ‘Ville” marketing package and associated events for several Fortville businesses to the town council, requesting approval for its public event on the afternoon of Aug. 23 and $2,500 of funding support from the town. Seven local businesses had representatives at the meeting in support of BeLocal.
Council members Libby Wyatt and Fritz Fentz, both of whom own businesses in downtown Fortville, were on board from the jump, with the initial request from BeLocal specifying that the $2500 would go toward sponsoring additional businesses in Fortville.
Council president Tonya Davis and Vice President Ryan Rummel pushed back, though, saying that sponsoring businesses wouldn’t be fair to those that had already joined BeLocal, but pushback immediately began to rise from the audience as several of the business owners in attendance shouted out from the gallery that they were in favor of the sponsorships.
Business owner after business owner stepped up to the podium in support of BeLocal, including co-owner of the Retro Sink Nicci Tredup.
“What helps the other businesses also helps our business,” Tredup said to the council.
The council ultimately decided against the sponsorship plan, but after harsh pushback from the business owners in attendance, decided instead to help cover some of BeLocal’s logistical costs associated with their plans for Fortville. The police department also dedicated three officers, including police chief Patrick Bratton, to help secure the event.
BeLocal also plans to bring in IndyNow to shoot video to help with promotion for Fortville’s Main Street businesses as well as bringing in TravelingFoodieGuyde, a restaurant influencer, to promote restaurants in the area.
Milda Sterrett, a founding member of Fortville Action, a group which promotes local businesses in Fortville, and a regular at town council meetings, said the meeting was unlike anything she had seen before.
“I don’t think the business owners even realized that they do have a voice,” Sterrett said.
The debate over the event also forced discussion over the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area the town has been considering in recent meetings. The area “allows towns to not be so 1984-Footlose with alcohol” according to town attorney Alex Intermill, giving people the option to leave businesses with alcohol in designated open containers so long as they remained within the DORA. This would allow them to explore downtown or travel from business to business without having to finish their drink. The town would be able to set parameters on the DORA concerning location and time as it saw fit and businesses would not be required to participate.
The idea previously was raised in discussions around Summerfest and would allow events such as the one proposed by BeLocal to run with less red tape.
