Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home City Council voted 7-0 to adopt an ordinance banning public drinking of alcohol and open containers of alcohol on public property during its regular meeting on Oct. 27.
The council vote came after the third reading of the ordinance.
The ordinance takes effect on Nov. 26. Violating the ordinance is considered a violation punishable by fine upon conviction.
The ordinance relates the justification for the ordinance, and Sweet Home Police Sgt. Jason Ogden elaborated on those reasons.
“In my 18 years of experience, we’ve had to deal with these numerous times,” Ogden said.
First, the ordinance cites a lack of supervision or control, available on licensed premises and private property.
“On private property there’s just more control over open container issues,” Ogden said. “There’s somebody that’s ultimately going to be responsible for that, whereas, in a public location, not so much.”
Second, the ordinance discusses the contribution alcohol plays in public areas toward underage drinking.
“This is just an issue for safety for our kids in the community,” Ogden said. “We have responded to calls over the years in regard to underage minors getting in control of open beverages at locations throughout town, and we just want to be able to protect the kids.”
Third, the ordinance cites litter and trash as an issue.
“I can think of areas right now that I’ve contacted people with open containers,” Ogden said. “I go back right there, and there’s probably trash still there from where I contacted them. This is just a constant issue that we’re dealing with throughout the community.”
Fourth, the ordinance mentions the litter, vandalism and disruptive behavior caused by drinking in public.
“We have experienced and we continue to experience litter and disruptive behavior in certain areas throughout town, just from the consumption of alcohol, and I think this is connected with, at times, the open container in the public place,” Ogden said. “We’re always dealing with some intoxicated person. Sometimes they have an open container. Sometimes they don’t, but it’s always an ongoing issue throughout certain areas of town.”
Alcohol in public areas also can create maintenance and law enforcement expenses.
Sometimes, officers have to respond to a call, and it turns into overtime, which costs the city extra, Ogden said.
Public drinking also can interfere with public safety and enjoyment of the public places, the ordinance says.
“We want to make our community safe, and I think this would help us, give us tools to help make our community a safer place,” Ogden said.
“I’ve seen a lot of this myself,” said Councilor Jeff Goodwin. “One of the things that really sticks out in my mind as we were cleaning up Northside Park: We dig through three inches of vegetation and we’re going down into the dirt near one of the picnic benches down there by the river, and there is broken glass in the dirt where you’d never see it. It had probably been there for 10 years where people are leaving that, don’t care at all and just making a mess of the city. I think it’s a good idea.”
Present at the meeting were councilors Marybeth Angulo, Ryan Underwood, Greg Mahler, Mayor Jim Gourley, Dave Trask, Bruce Hobbs and Jeff Goodwin.
In other business:
n Gourley referred a discussion about ways to improve behavior at Sankey Park to the Parks Board and Public Safety Committee.
Goodwin said he was concerned about reports he’s been hearing from members of the community about undesirable behavior in Sankey Park, such as drug activity and underage sex.
“I think it might be good for the council to look into taking some kind of action plan to evaluate if there’s something we can do to try to improve the atmosphere of that park because it’s becoming a place where people don’t want to go,” Goodwin said. “They’re finding condoms on the ground; things like that that are happening.”
He doesn’t know what the best approach may be, Goodwin said, but perhaps the city could prohibit unaccompanied minors during school hours, for example.
“I think we need to evaluate what the right step is,” Goodwin said.
Gourley said the Parks Board might discuss it and come up with ideas to bring back to the council and the Public Safety Committee. At that point, the council might involve the Youth Advisory Council for input.
“We’ve talked about a lot of different things that need to happen in the park, and the biggest one we’ve come up with is just usage,” Gourley said. “If we can get more usage, then it calms down the other things that happen there.I think there are some issues that we’ve been dealing with there for awhile, and we’ve tried different things. Maybe something else will work.”
n The council appointed high school senior Malachi Fisher, junior Eleanor (Elea) Hewitt and freshman Alisha Isabell to the Youth Advisory Council, with terms ending on June 30.
n The council adopted a Title VI plan to comply with 1964 Civil Rights Act requirements.
The city needed a plan because federal funding for the Senior Center’s Linn Shuttle program pass through the city. The plan ensures that no person is excluded from service based on race, color, sex or national origin.
The city program receives approximately $135,000 per year, and the plan is necessary to remain eligible.
n The council agreed to exchange $104,290 in federal transportation funds with the state for $98,032.60, an exchange rate of 94 cents per dollar.
The funds are used for overlay and construction projects on city roads.
By exchanging the funds, the city is not required to follow federal requirements for its projects, which usually add significant costs and time to the projects, said Public Works Director Mike Adams.