In 30 days, Columbus will join the ranks of Mississippi cities with a red cup district.
Or green cup, anyway.
The city council voted 4-2 during its Tuesday regular meeting to establish two districts — one downtown, and one on Northside near the old Queen City Hotel — where it will be legal to take liquor, beer or light wine to-go from participating restaurants and bars.
The downtown area stretches from Fifth Avenue North in the north to Third Avenue South in the south, and Riverside Park in the west and Sixth Street North in the east. It includes establishments such as the Princess Theater, Zachary’s, J. Broussard’s, Munson and Brothers, Harvey’s, Huck’s and Main Street Thai.
It also includes the Rosenzweig Art Center, the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market and the Burns Bottom neighborhood.
The second area includes Seventh Avenue North from 14th Street in the west to 16th Street in the east, as well as 15th Street North between Eighth and Seventh avenues.
That area had been dropped from the proposal at one point but was added back at the request of District 41 State Rep. Kabir Karriem, Mayor Keith Gaskin told The Dispatch after the meeting.
Cups must be 16 ounces or less, and must be green. A suggestion to use purple cups to match Columbus High School’s purple-and-gold color scheme was dropped, Gaskin said, because citizens had expressed concerns about associating the high school’s colors with alcohol.
To-go cups will be allowed between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. seven days a week. It is only permissible to have alcohol purchased within the district. Beverages brought in from outside are not allowed.
Participating restaurants and bars will be required to have a trash can within 15 feet of the main entrance, according to the ordinance.
The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days, according to City Attorney Jeff Turnage.
Turnage said the ordinance will not affect festivals or downtown events, such as Market Street Festival, that serve alcohol.
“If you have an event where they block off streets, they will still have to come to the council to ask for a permit even though there is an entertainment and recreation district,” Turnage said.
Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard moved, with a second by Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones, to establish the entertainment district. It passed 4-2, with Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart, Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene, Beard and Jones voting yes; and Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco voting no.
The idea was first floated earlier this summer as a way to increase foot traffic in the downtown area. A committee, made up of city officials and business owners, met several times to nail down the details before submitting the proposal approved Tuesday night.
Promissory note for parks plan approved
The council, on another 4-2 vote, approved issuing a promissory note to the Mississippi Development Bank for a loan amount not to exceed $3 million. This is the latest procedural step toward issuing bonds for the parks renovation plan.
The city is planning on selling $3 million in bonds to support a $4.4 million parks renovation, with the majority of the work in Propst Park. Of that total $643,000 would be spread across seven community centers and $250,000 for maintenance. The city’s $400,000 per year share of the 2% tourism tax will be used to make the payments.
Bond attorney Tray Hairston of Jackson-based Butler Snow told the council the interest rate is still not known and will not be set until further along in the process.
Last month a financial consultant suggested the city wait until its Fiscal Year 2021 audit is complete to sell the bonds, because that may help with getting a lower interest rate.
DiCicco asked Hairston and Nnamdi Thompson of financial advisers Government Consultants about waiting, and Thompson said buyers may be interested anyway.
“We have talked to a number of potential purchasers, and they understand where the city is,” Thompson said. “There are some information requests for (Chief Financial Officer James Brigham) to answer. Once they get that information, they might be OK to price the bonds and lock in the interest rate.”
Any proposals would have to be brought back to the council for approval.
Jones moved, with a second by Stewart, to approve the promissory note. The motion passed 4-2, with Greene and DiCicco voting no.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
You can help your community
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
Join the Discussion