Columbus Council hears from residents, business owners about proposed curfew
During the May 26 Columbus Council meeting, the public had a chance to speak about a proposed ordinance that would put a curfew on minors in the Uptown District.
The council decided to continue the first reading of the ordinance June 9, after hearing from residents and business owners about the proposed curfew. The council also voted unanimously to create a committee to explore this issue and find a holistic solution.
Uptown Columbus Inc., the nonprofit organization that promotes downtown businesses, proposed the ordinance after reporting more than 400 incidents during the past year in the district, according to the Columbus Police Department.
The proposal was developed during the past several months through ongoing coordination between Uptown Columbus, the Columbus Police Department, the juvenile court, the district attorney, city leadership, merchants, business owners and public safety personnel, Uptown Columbus president and CEO Steve Morse told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email.
During the May 26 meeting, Morse said the Uptown District has had increasing concerns involving groups of unsupervised youth during weekend evenings.
“The proposed ordinance came from discussion about how to proactively address those operational and public safety concerns before any larger issues develop,” he said.
The Columbus Police Department supports the proposal, Assistant Police Chief Lance Deaton told the council during the May 26 meeting. He said about half of the youth causing incidents investigated by CPD in Columbus “are coming from Phenix City or the surrounding areas.”
During the meeting, members of the public and the council expressed concerns about unintended consequences from a curfew in one part of the city. They exchanged ideas about how to provide more recreation and support for youth to keep them out of trouble.
What the proposed Columbus curfew says
The curfew would make it unlawful, except for certain exemptions, for anyone under the age of 18 to be in any public place, street, sidewalk, park, parking garage or other public area from Eighth Street to 14th Street and between Second Avenue and Bay Avenue from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day.
The ordinance wouldn’t apply to minors who:
- Are accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or other adult having the lawful care and custody of the minor
- Engaged in lawful employment or traveling to or from employment
- Attending to traveling to or from a school-sponsored, civic, religious or other approved organized activity
- A current Columbus State University student and housed in the Uptown Columbus area
- Attending or traveling directly to or from an activity exercising the First Amendment rights protected under the U.S. Constitution
- Staying at a hotel or lodging facility in the area.
Any parents, legal guardians or other adults having custody or control of any child under the age of 18 will be held responsible if the minor is found to be violating the curfew. Adults convicted of violating the ordinance would be punished with a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 90 days or both, in accordance with Sec. 1-8 in the city code.
Supporting grassroots efforts and concerns about fees, jail
Corie Wilson, a 34-year-old Columbus native, told the council about growing up in the city and his experiences downtown with his family.
“I walked downtown in high school,” he said. “And I’ve never done anything criminally or had people have to supervise me.”
As an adult with two children, a 15-year-old and a 10-year-old, Wilson said he frequents the area with his kids at night.
“We like to walk at nighttime,” he said. “We have four dogs and like to walk when there’s a lot less traffic.”
On one of these occasions, Wilson said, he was downtown with his wife, sitting in a public parking garage, eating food and watching the sunset.
“I was pulled out of my vehicle by the Columbus Police Department,” Wilson said. “They searched me. They let us go. They said I can’t be loitering. I was just sitting there eating, watching the sunset.
“Those are the concerns that people like me, fathers like me, have when you spring something like this onto the constituents of the whole city who have children that frequent the downtown area when school just got released.”
A curfew criminalizes children, Wilson said, rather than creating opportunities for them to do something constructive.
“The proposal, I’m not against it because it does need some wrangling,” he said. “A lot of parents do need to step up and take care of their children. They need to know where they are and be responsible for their children.”
However, Wilson agreed with Councilor Toyia Tucker of District 4, who said many parents could not afford the associated fine.
Jerome Lawson, a Columbus resident and former director of Cure Violence, also spoke during the meeting.
“Uptown is not the heartbeat of Columbus; the people are,” Lawson said. “Let’s not forget it’s the people who make this city, not Uptown — just like a church building is not a church; it’s the people.”
When he was the director of Cure Violence, Lawson said, he asked for a curfew in Columbus. The authorities told him it wouldn’t work, he said.
Supporting grassroots organizations will help address this issue, Lawson said.
“We’ve got to stop overlooking our community heroes at the local level,” he said. “We’ve got to start pouring into the people who are making a difference, who are walking these streets in the community, who have a relationship with us — not just myself but other people who are out here.”
Kids don’t have anything to do in south Columbus, Lawson said, so they go to the Uptown District.
“We’re trying to erect something that will affect one particular part,” he said. “But it will have a blowback on everybody because these kids are going to continue to push back. They’re going to push back because they’re going to say, ‘Who are you to tell me I can’t come into this district?’”
Ensuring parents are held accountable is crucial, Lawson said, along with providing more recreational opportunities.
Business owners’ perspective
Dan Gilbert, owner of Whitewater Express, said he doesn’t have an issue with youth in the Uptown District. A group of kids representing the River City Race Program, a Soap Box Derby, are “delightful” and “exude goodness,” he said.
“What we’re talking about here is a group of kids that does not,” Gilbert said. “And it’s a group of kids who are intentionally trying to come in and do a takeover. They have guns.”
Gilbert said he does not want kids like the group from the Soap Box Derby associating with those who have bad intentions.
“There’ll be 100, 200 kids,” he said. “And there are leaders. You can spot these leaders in the group. They’re there trying to be disruptive. They’ll take road signs and throw them in the street. They’ll scratch cars. They’ll scratch up golf carts.”
The worst problem he sees is when customers are scared and will turn around, Gilbert said. He has staff who are afraid to go to their cars at night “once this takeover starts.”
“It truly is safety,” Gilbert said. “This is not a financial thing. This is more of a safety thing.”
Adrian Chester of Chester’s Barbecue emphasized city leaders should speak to youth about this proposal and hear their thoughts.
Chester asked, “Has the Youth Advisory Council been engaged in this conversation to craft this proposal to see what their thoughts are and what they are feeling from their peers?”
Nobody answered Chester’s question during the meeting.
The public should have more engagement opportunities about the proposed curfew, Chester said, because it would impact everyone.
Holistic approach and more time
Councilor Joanne Cogle of District 7, a mayoral candidate, asked deputy city manager Lisa Goodwin to find out what the cost-per-hour would be for the recreation centers to be open an hour longer on the weekends.
She also asked what it would cost for the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department to bring back Midnight Basketball. With the city council orking on next fiscal year’s budget, Cogle said, it’s a good time to explore these options.
“If the kids don’t have something to do,” she said, “let’s get them something to do.”
Tucker supports bringing back Midnight Basketball.
“When we did Midnight Basketball back when I was in school, it was talking about life skills, soft skills and disciplinary issues,” she said. “They keep throwing that word ‘juvenile’ out, but if you had a troubled child, the ones on probation and parole, they were in Midnight Basketball.”
Midnight Basketball was for everyone, Tucker said, not just the “good kids.” The program showed “troubled kids can turn into good kids,” she said.
Councilor Travis Chambers of citywide District 10 said more focus is needed on positive programs and safe spaces for youth, like a mentoring program.
“We’ve got to be more proactive,” he said. “Yes, public safety matters. But prevention matters too.”
While the council considers the proposed ordinance, Tucker suggested, along with engaging more with the public and other stakeholders, they should also contact leaders in Phenix City because CPD reported many youth come to Columbus from there.
“If their youth are coming over and being disruptive, we need to bring (Phenix City) Mayor Eddie Lowe into the conversation as well because it’s a Tri-City issue,” she said. “It’s not just a Columbus, Georgia, issue.”
Mayor Skip Henderson said he went on a ride-along with CPD the Saturday before the May 26 meeting, and it was then that he first heard there was such a large number of young people coming from Alabama.
“Eddie Lowe and I are going to get together and talk about what we can do from a joint perspective,” Henderson said.
Henderson also suggested holding a town hall community meeting so residents could ask questions about the curfew.
“It is about keeping children safe — period,” he said.
About three or four years ago, shootings occurred in the Uptown District while the Miss Georgia pageant was in town, Henderson said.
“I’m telling you, that’s a hard conversation to have with about 125 parents who are concerned if their child is safe just trying to earn scholarships to go on to college,” he said. “So, I appreciate the council keeping an open mind because there has to be more discussion.”
Henderson supports approving the curfew until more solutions could be found. This would involve engaging with organizations providing different programs willing to provide kids with activities.
“First, you have to hear from the kids about what they want to do,” he said.
While the council unanimously voted to create a committee to look into this issue, they voted 7-3 to continue to June 9 the first reading of the proposed curfew,
Voting yes were Councilors Simi Barnes of District 1, Glenn Davis of District 2, Bruce Huff of District 3, Toyia Tucker of District 4, Joanne Cogle of District 7, John Anker of citywide District 9 and Travis Chambers of citywide District 10. Mayor Pro Tem Gary Allen, the council’s District 6 representative, was joined in opposition by Councilors Charmaine Crabb of District 5 and Walker Garrett of District 8.
The council also unanimously approved a motion to identify funding options to provide the Uptown District with as many as 10 additional off-duty officers from 8 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays through Labor Day.
