It’s been a different sort of week for the relationship between Columbus’ city government and two of its businesses.
On Tuesday, The Princess Theater agreed to limit business hours and reduce patron capacity, in lockstep with efforts from the city to install security cameras and improve lighting outside the nightclub.
On Wednesday, the O-Kay Foods convenience store on Seventh Avenue North also agreed to reduce its business hours and install 24-hour surveillance cameras.
Both arrangements follow shootings — one early Sunday morning on Fifth Street outside The Princess that didn’t see any injuries, and another on Tuesday afternoon inside O-Kay Foods that injured two people.
In both instances, the businesses offered initial resistance to the city’s wishes for reduced hours of operations, before volunteering changes in response to potentially being forced to accept them with an ordinance change.
In the days since, residents have voiced concerns about the city’s ability to mandate hours for private businesses through ordinances.
Even so, the practice appears to be legal.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said Miss. Code section 67-3-65 gives the city the authority to regulate the hours.
The statute says cities can “enforce such proper rules and regulations for fixing zones and territories, prescribing hours of opening and closing” and other measures to “promote public health, morals, and safety as they may by ordinance provide” for businesses that sell alcohol. Counties are afforded the same authority.
Mayor Robert Smith said while the city can dictate hours at businesses, it’s something he only reserves for instances where repeated issues threaten public safety.
When a business reaches the point of warranting consideration for changes, Smith said, he’ll meet with business stakeholders and owners, city administration and the police chief and command staff before reaching a decision.
“It’s not just a spur-of-the-moment thing that every time something happens, you’re going to change the hours,” Smith said. “It’s a progression.
“I know that the bread and butter of any municipality is the tax base, but if you’re constantly having problems, it’s incumbent on me, the police and the city council to do something for the public safety,” Smith later added.
Both O-Kay Foods and The Princess have seen repeated problems, Smith said. Columbus Police Department has responded to 22 calls at or around The Princess since February 2016, and more than 100 at O-Kay Foods in the last year, according to city officials.
Smith, in response to concerns that the city might start going after any business that sees some sort of trouble, said he’s not going to punish a business for an isolated incident.
“I wouldn’t dare,” he said. “Neither would the council or the chief.”
Princess owner responds
Bart Lawrence, owner of The Princess, said he welcomes the opportunity to work with neighboring businesses and community members to improve safety around his business. However, he said the concessions — closing at 10 p.m. instead of 1:30 a.m. and reducing his capacity from 488 to 163 by closing the theater segment — will hurt.
Mark Jackson, an attorney with Tompkins Law Firm who is representing Lawrence, said the cuts will reduce The Princess’ revenue by about 60 percent. Lawrence said reducing his capacity will lead to cutting about 10 jobs.
“I’m pleased that they’ve given us an opportunity to work together to come to a long-term solution,” Lawrence said. “I’m not pleased with having to eliminate jobs. I’m not pleased with having lower revenue.”
Lawrence, city officials and community members are slated to meet at a later date to discuss security issues around The Princess and downtown. He said he’s taken steps on his own to keep The Princess safe, including security at the door and scanners to check ID cards.
“I think if you ask anyone that comes to The Princess … to have fun with their friends, to dance, to have a good time, they would tell you they feel safe. What has ended up happening is, because it is popular, you get the hangers-on.
“They’re not interested in having a good time,” he added. “They want to take advantage of people, whether it’s through crime or because they have nothing else to do. That’s something we’re concerned about and want it handled.”
Lawrence said he’s talked previously to police and the city about issues around the theater.
“I don’t think this is a problem that snuck up on anybody, but nothing was done about it,” he said. “We did everything that we thought we could do legally. We did everything we thought we had the authority to do.”
Smith agreed the city will need to address issues in areas like The Princess and O-Kay Foods more proactively.
“Once it becomes a problem, we’re going to have to be more proactive in terms of trying to deter it,” Smith said. “From loitering around The Princess, maybe if we had jumped on it sooner, it would have curtailed it, but you never know.”
At O-Kay Foods, a handwritten sign on the door reads “Closing at 5 p.m. every day” with a smaller line underneath that says “per city council and the mayor.”
The owner, Mutee Nagi, was not available in-person Thursday afternoon, and did not respond to multiple calls for comment.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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