The city commission determined in a 4-1 vote to proceed with a proposed Common Consumption Area in downtown Manhattan during a special commission meeting on Tuesday. 

This plan was in the works for five years, with assistant city manager Jaren Wasinger proposing it to the commission during the meeting. He said the plan was developed in conjunction with the Riley County Police Department, the Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Downtown Manhattan executive directors. After holding a meeting, the district recommended imposing an ongoing CCA, and the proposed time frame for the CCA was Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“This coincides with the timelines where the outdoor dining platforms are also available, so we didn’t want any inconsistencies between those two areas,” Wasinger said in the meeting. “This is an ongoing CCA where traffic would remain open to the public, unlike a special event when you’re closing down an entire street.”

Wasinger said while Aggieville won’t be included in the proposed CCA area, it would be included on an “event-by-event basis.” Once construction around the area is complete, Aggieville will likely “reapproach the governing body.” 

According to the Kansas Department of Revenue, a CCA is “… a defined indoor or outdoor area not otherwise licensed where the possession and consumption of alcoholic liquor and cereal malt beverage is allowed pursuant to a common consumption area permit. The boundaries of any common consumption area must be clearly marked using a physical barrier or other apparent line of demarcation.”

Gina Snyder, executive director of Downtown Manhattan, said she sees this ordinance being “mostly used on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.”

“This is a natural progression into allowing the public into being on the public right of way without having barricades, without having an event, an established event, it’s just something that will be an opportunity,” Snyder said. “That’s really the intent, to create the ability to be with your people and walk place-to-place. This is by no means a type of ordinance that really promotes or allows, in downtown Manhattan anyway, excessive drinking.”

After a brief discussion, the commission agreed to move forward with the ordinance, with only Mayor Karen McCulloh dissenting.

Snyder said residents could “in theory” request that their beverage be put in a plastic cup and be allowed to go anywhere within the designated boundary. However, Snyder said there will need to be two more commission meetings before the ordinance can be implemented.

“This is a work session, where we’ve had a couple of these in the past,” Snyder said. “There will need to be two more city meetings, which are legislative, and we will have to go over the absolute details: What is the boundaries, do we include the alleys, do we not, are we including that parking lot, do we not — all of that stuff needs to be fleshed out.”