HOT SPRINGS, AR - When you think of downtown Hot Springs, you imagine Bathhouse Row - six blocks of fountains, benches and streetlights. However, the group behind it all could soon be no more.
"It's like cutting off an arm or a leg of Hot Springs and I question why anybody would want to do such a thing," said downtown Hot Springs property owner Anne Marcus.
More than 20 years ago, downtown property owners formed the Central Business Improvement District II to make the downtown what it is today with a $3 million dollar bond. Now the bond is paid off, and some of the members are ready to disband.
"My family came from poor and we've worked seven days a week to achieve what we have and I believe free enterprise is what America was built on. Not taxation without representation," said Duck Tours owner Stacy Roberts.
"We are tourism based and the downtown is the heart of Hot Springs," said City Clerk Lance Spicer. "If things start to slide there than it could be a domino effect."
A petition handed to Spicer, Friday, holds the necessary two thirds of property owner's signatures to stop the tax - no longer holding business owners responsible for paying for maintenance of the downtown or future projects that could come up.
"They water the plants and they keep the lightbulbs in," said Roberts. "We have the city of Hot Springs for that. I don't think they're going to leave a light out in the middle of downtown and if they do I'll personally pay to replace that light."
But in a city dependent on tourism, some fear taking away these extra boosts will be detrimental to an already struggling city economy.
"I think all of retail would suffer," said Marcus. "All of the retail, entertainment, restaurants, hotels, I think everything would suffer dramatically."
Each signature on the petition is now being verified by the city clerk. It then goes before the board of directors next month and if the signatures hold, these property owners will no longer be responsible for paying for staple features downtown.
