Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking couldn’t give an exact date but says local residents could see an announcement on the city’s new Common Consumption Area format possibly by next month.
Cocking told this to KVOE News during an interview on the subject Monday just over a week after a similar CCA format was utilized by Emporia Main Street for the annual Emporia St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Cocking says while the scope of Main Street and the city’s CCAs are slightly different, a recent CCA report from the Emporia Police Department this past Wednesday gave city leadership a lot of confidence the new model will be successful.
As for what makes the model different from years past, Cocking explains the new CCA does not utilize fencing or security like in the past and instead relies on signage, the education of local drinking establishment owners and the common sense from the general public. He tells KVOE News the new model will only be used for smaller community events rather than large-scale happenings such as Unbound Gravel and Dynamic Discs namely because of the number of individuals on hand for said events.
When it comes to the benefits of the CCA in this new format, Cocking believes it will be a great tool for enticing more activity in the downtown corridor.
As mentioned, there is no official date for when the CCA could be ready to roll out, however, Cocking anticipates it could be coming in the next three weeks or so noting they are still working to finalize certain details including procedures, signage and business owner education.
