• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Chief, Council Differ on Drinking at Port Parks: Police Pushing for Permits, Limited Locales

Posted on: Friday, 19 May 2006, 03:09 CDT

By Lawrence Sussman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

May 19--Port Washington -- The city administration wants to allow people to legally drink alcoholic beverages at a number of city parks.

But Police Chief Richard Thomas wants to limit the drinking to three parks and wants anyone serving alcohol at those parks to get a permit to do so.

Their differences were aired at a Common Council meeting this week, and both sides said they hope a compromise can be reached in time for the council's June 6 meeting.

Currently in all city parks, alcoholic beverages are prohibited, City Administrator Mark Grams said Thursday.

"However, the police have not really enforced the ordinance unless there was trouble or a problem in the park," he said. "It was putting the police in a difficult situation."

Grams also said, "I had my son's graduation from college at Upper Lake Park, and we had beer there."

Newly elected Ald. Ed Johnson said Thursday he went to a jazz concert in a downtown park last summer with another couple, "and we had a bottle of wine and some cheese. But little did I know that I was violating the ordinance."

The Parks & Recreation Board this week sent to the Common Council an ordinance that would have permitted alcohol at 18 city parks.

Chief Thomas, though, said the ordinance would increase the burden on his officers because it is harder to maintain the peace if people have been drinking too much. He also said it can degrade the quality of life for families using the park.

Because of the chief's objections, the council returned the ordinance to the Park & Recreation Board for more discussion.

The board is expected to review the proposed ordinance at a special meeting, Grams said. Thomas said he would support allowing alcoholic beverages to be consumed at Upper Lake, Veteran's Memorial and Gilson parks, as long as a permit is obtained by those providing the alcohol.

Thomas said people could drink safely at those parks because they have ample space, and there normally is enough room for a number of activities taking place at the same time. In addition, police can more easily patrol these parks because they are more accessible.

Ald. Burt Babcock, a member of the Parks & Recreation Board, agreed with the chief Thursday.

"I like the idea of opening up Upper Lake Park and Veteran's Park to drinking," Babcock said. "But anything else will be a problem."

Johnson, however, said he did not favor requiring a permit.

"If a family comes to Port Washington has a picnic, and Dad throws a six-pack in the cooler," he said, "I think it is unreasonable to have to stop at the police station downtown and pick up a permit.

"The parks are closed at 10, period," he said. "It's not like we're creating party-central all night long."

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

More News in this Category