A committee consisting of restaurant owners, citizens, a city councilman and the mayor met Wednesday to discuss Columbus’ proposed “Red Cup District” ordinance.
The takeaway from the discussion was a lingering question: Does the police department have the manpower to effectively enforce the ordinance?
First discussed in a June 16 city council work session, the Red Cup District would allow patrons at downtown restaurants and bars to carry alcohol in uniform to-go cups outside of the establishment where the drinks are purchased during specified hours.
So far, city officials have not defined the hours, the specific boundaries of the proposed district or determined how the allowed cup will look.
As to the policing question, Assistant Chief Garland Ward told committee members that Columbus Police Department has 42 officers on staff. It is budgeted for 55.
“During its hours, the ‘Red Cup District’ would further strain the department by the combination of auto traffic, alcohol and more pedestrians,” wrote committee member George Hazard in a list of points he presented to the other members at the meeting. “… It borders on absurdity to picture ‘two officers down here on foot patrol,’ as (Chief Joseph Daughtry) said in (The Dispatch) — two officers checking the color of cups when the department is (more than) 10 officers short.”
Ward said CPD has been discussing plans for the district, but Daughtry, who did not attend the meeting, could better speak to the issue.
“I’m quite sure that (Daughtry) has a plan for this. I just don’t know what that plan is,” Ward said. “We have talked about it, but we haven’t come up with anything firm at this point.”
Committee member Eurie Bordenave, owner of Patio 45, which is not located downtown, suggested the businesses in the district chip in to help remedy the problem.
“For the downtown area, why couldn’t we sell the cups to get in residual, and you guys use that money to pay a specific group of police officers for the Red Cup District?” Bordenave asked. “Because the businesses are benefiting from that, they should come in with some of the costs to even out the policing of the area.”
Committee member Ryan Munson, owner of Munson and Brothers in Burns Bottom, said he would gladly charge a fee for a to-go cup, but he didn’t think it would benefit him enough to help pay for security.
“I actually don’t have any problem with charging 25 cents a cup to help, but I don’t think it’s going to affect my business that much,” Munson said. “A lot of people don’t want to buy a to-go cup and walk up that hill. What I think it will do is when we are having festivals or trying to put on events, it will just make things a little bit easier for people to relax and walk around, and we can do more interesting things which will draw more people.”
Mayor Keith Gaskin said points like these confirmed for him that establishing a Red Cup District shouldn’t be rushed.
“We don’t, at this point, have a firm deadline to come to a decision on this,” Gaskin said. “… I want this, if we are going to move forward, to be something that is positive and supportive of the city, not something that is going to be divisive. I think we need to take our time. We’ve gone this long without having one, I don’t see any reason to rush.”
The committee decided to take the information presented to them and mull it over. It will reconvene at 2 p.m. Wednesday at City Hall.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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