Lake Helen: How much is too much for city-run cafe?

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Feb 22, 2010 - 8:56:12am

Lake Helen City Commission Chambers were standing room only for a Feb. 15 workshop, because a rumor had spread that the commission intended to shut down the Creative Arts Café.

“The rumor mill is very effective in Lake Helen,” Mayor Buddy Snowden said.

Citizens flocked to City Hall to defend their city-owned restaurant. They held signs and wore hats that said, “I Love my Cafe!” “My vote counts!” and “Don’t Take Away My Cafe!”

“The word on the street was, it’s going to be a bloodbath tonight,” resident Teresa Abshire said.

The mayor and commissioners were quick to say the rumors were wrong; the workshop was an attempt to involve as many citizens as possible in making decisions about the cafe.

Lake Helen’s Creative Arts Café opened in 2007. The enterprise is meant to be both a restaurant and a youth-activity center.

But the cafe is losing money, and the city has had to use tax dollars to pay its bills. Over 28 months, Lake Helen has spent more than $33,000 to keep the restaurant open.

At the workshop, commissioners affirmed they were there to do the will of the people.

Vice Mayor Ann Robbins asked for the workshop. She said she wanted to open the cafe’s books and talk about the hard facts.

“I have said all along that I support the cafe,” Robbins said. “I asked for this meeting to discuss the finances.”

Commissioner Rick Basso said the workshop would shine light on real problems the city must handle. If the commission continues to subsidize the cafe, and it doesn’t show a profit in the future, he didn’t want citizens showing up and asking why their money was being used this way.

“I supported it then; I support it now,” Basso said. “How much are we willing to spend to keep it open?”

With no profit, Basso pointed out, there is no money being directed to teen programs. He said the commission needed to let people know that if they think they are donating to a teen program by patronizing the cafe, that’s not true.

Basso said that could change.

“If it becomes a revenue-maker, we’re not going to be discussing this,” Basso said.

Commissioner Vernon Burton said the cost of keeping teenagers safe and occupied cannot be measured against the cost of locking up a youth who may have drifted to illegal activities because there were no programs available.

He also commented on the public participation, saying he’d like to see a full house more often.

“It’s a shame it takes an issue to see this many people at City Commission,” Burton said.

Commissioner Cameron Lane agreed with the other commissioners, and said he appreciated Vice Mayor Robbins calling the meeting.

“It’s our job to manage this city’s business,” Lane said.

With general agreement that keeping the cafe open costs the city money, the question became: How much?

Lake Helen Police Chief Keith Chester is the man behind the Creative Arts Café. He said little by little the cafe finances are improving, despite troubled times that are driving many businesses to close their doors.

Snowden opened the floor to Lake Helen residents, who spoke with passion about the cafe for more than 90 minutes.

After some debate, commissioners decided to form a committee to examine options for increasing the cafe’s revenue. That consensus was formalized at the Feb. 18 City Commission meeting.

Basso asked that an item be added to the agenda for the City Commission meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4. Then, commissioners will vote on whether to form a committee that would be charged with finding ways to keep the cafe open.

(Read the editorial "There is no free lunch in Lake Helen.")

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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