Potential arcade planned in Dixon

DIXON – An arcade soon could be coming to Dixon.

Robert Lewis is petitioning the city for a special use permit to open an arcade at 94 S. Peoria Ave. under Replays Arcade LLC.

After hearing of interest in opening an arcade, the Dixon City Council recently amended its ordinance for amusement devices, which hadn’t been updated since 1983.

“There were a variety of things we needed to address here,” Mayor Glen Hughes said before approving ordinance changes last week.

The changes included cleaning up definitions and updating lease and operator requirements as well as setting fee increases.

Beginning Jan. 1, the distributor fee will increase from $200 to $250 a year, operator fee from $100 to $150 and fee per machine from $30 to $45.

Arcade owners would also be subject to a background check, and no alcohol or video gambling would be allowed, Hughes said.

“An amusement center of this sort is going to attract a lot of kids, and we want to make sure they are adequately protected,” he said.

The city building official and fire chief also would do an inspection to make sure the electrical is up to code.

The Replays Arcade petition will be sent to the Plan Commission and go back to the council for a vote.