The Perryville Board of Aldermen brought a several month issue to its conclusion at the latest City Council meeting on Jan. 2.
The Aldermen rejected the special use permit request from DGOGPerryvillemo 05312023 to construct a 10,640 square foot Dollar General Store at property located on the southeast side of Highway 61 and Sutterer Place unanimously (6-0).
The decision was met with much applause by those in the audience.
The issue has caused much controversy over the past few months as residents said that another Dollar General was not needed in Perryville. They spoke to that during a public hearing before the board during the previous meeting on Dec. 19.
Another Dollar General does not improve the local flavor of Perryville. While that area may be developed in time, development needs to be a thoughtful plan with local businesses or businesses that fill a gap not currently available in our area,” Perryville resident Betty Phillips said. “The loudest voices in this opposition are from the people who live closest to this proposed change. They are long standing residents, business people and participants in this community. Their voices deserve to be heard and taken seriously as you make this decision. They are tax payers who vote. Another Dollar General will not add anything new to the community. It will not expand the tax base. It will be a duplication of services already available in Perryville. The negative effect will be on the existing stores that already offer the same products. If Rozier’s, Farm Fresh and Barnes Mart have a decrease in sales, employees will be laid off and these employees will lose both their income and their benefits.”
Much like Phillips, another resident noted that there is already another Dollar General Store within two miles, already in Perryville and more in the surrounding area, including the fourth in a 15-mile radius and ninth within 25 miles of Perryville.
Perryville resident Angela Swan cited several questions from a recently completed survey by city officials to help them with their Comprehensive Plan that has since been named Perryville 2045. One of those questions centered around what citizens would like to see in the future.
“More than half of the responses were on lifestyle centers and small-scale neighborhood retail. Standalone big box stores were least preferred.”