Mayor & Commission Meetings

LEGISLATIVE REVIEW COMMITTEE Thursday, February 2, 2023 City Hall Conference Room 103 Committee Members Present: Committee Members Absent: Commissioner Carol Myers, Chair Commissioner John Culpepper Commissioner Jesse Houle Commissioner Ovita Thornton * Arrived at 1:17pm Commissioner Allison Wright Staff: Niki Jones, Assistant Manager Lt. Philip Basinger, Police Department Sherrie Hines, Deputy Chief Attorney Kent Kilpatrick, Leisure Services Gavin Hassemer, Central Services Suki Janssen, Solid Waste Angel Helmly, Central Services Sarah George, Recorder Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel, Police Department Commissioner Myers called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. A. Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Wright made a motion to approve the January 19, 2023 minutes. Commissioner Houle seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. B. Public Input: Public input was received from the following individuals:  Timi Conley, Wild Rumpus – supported expanding the festival zones for special events  Gene Dixon- supported expanding the festival zones for special events Commission Identified Items of Interest: C. Review current downtown festival zone guidelines to determine elements that would need to be in place to recommend a larger zone Assistant Manager Jones summarized requests for staff from the last meeting, and he noted that they were asked to prepare the ordinance with draft recommended revisions, research from Savannah, information on signage, and a summary of the rationale for the staff recommendation to not expand festival zones at this time. Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel provided an overview on the research from the City of Savannah. He explained they currently have a policy that permits open container within a specified geographic area on a daily basis, and this is not specific to special events. The City of Savannah does not permit cans and bottles; beverages must be within a plastic cup. Commissioner Wright shared that, from her experience, the establishments will point to a stack of cups prior to patrons and ask that they pour whatever the person is drinking from the establishment into the plastic cup before the person exits. She also noted that the street enforcement and boundary line is not apparent. Commissioner Houle shared that they are cognizant of the scope of the assigned topic from Mayor; however, they believe that if we shared a similar approach to the City of Savannah with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week space, it might simplify a lot of the complications around special event permitting. They also noted, though, that it might also open up questions around the impact, given that Athens is a college town. Commissioner Houle shared that they believe it  would be worth comparing how to continue the approach we have with festivals versus a Savannah-style approach to downtown the next time this topic is revisited in order to really understand the safety concerns and staffing and community needs. Commissioner Myers explained that she also thought about that and noted that she believed it might be risky given the potential for underage drinking and the amount of usage Clayton Street gets already. Commissioner Wright explained that she was supportive of the recommendation to not expand the festival zones, given the concerns outlined by staff. Assistant Manager Jones shared that the signage will be covered within the ordinance, and he noted that, in past discussions, staff shared that a better job could be done to educate people before they entered the festival zone; the Committee subsequently suggested having staff look into possibly providing the signage to ensure consistency, and staff conducted research following the meeting. Gavin Hassemer and Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel presented an overview of the draft recommended changes to the special events ordinance. Commissioner Culpepper inquired as to whether or not the event coordinator was required to have liability insurance to cover any accidents that occurred during the time of the event. Angel Helmly explained that they are required to have liability insurance, and they also sign a waiver of liability to explain that they would be responsible and not ACCGov; every event is required to have the same amount of insurance. Gavin Hassemer explained that the ordinance currently stated fees on a per event basis, but he noted some events are multiple events. Staff is amenable to keeping this as a per event application fee, given the amount of administrative work tends to be about the same. Staff recommended explicitly noting that this fee is per event, and the Committee agreed. Commissioner Wright inquired as to whether or not there was a policy that required special events to use ACCPD as security or if special events were allowed to hire private security. Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel explained that one of the critical issues would be involving the entry and exit points or anything that would require traffic direction would require a police officer who has the authority to direct traffic. While others could stand in the roadway to direct traffic, drivers are not necessarily obligated to follow their traffic directions; this is the primary concern for using police officers, particularly at entry and exit points. Commissioner Wright clarified that her concern was primarily for the cost associated with it; however, there may be other opportunities to address cost. Commissioner Myers inquired as to whether or not the Committee was amenable to leaving the requirement for using ACCPD as security as is in the ordinance, and the Committee agreed. Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel explained that language was suggested within the draft ordinance to denote the event coordinator’s obligation to take corrective action during an event should something arise regarding enforcement. He shared that an example of this would be if additional signage was needed or if other actions are needed to address a large number of open container violations. Commissioner Houle inquired as to whether or not the term “event coordinator” should be defined within the ordinance from a legal standpoint; they also noted that there are other terms used, and it would be ideal to keep the language consistent. Assistant Manager Niki Jones recommended changing the other references to be “event coordinator” throughout, and the Committee agreed. Deputy Chief Daniel also shared that language was added in the draft ordinance to provide some authority for the Manager’s Office to deny incorporation of the use of alcohol into a special event for ordinance violations without requiring a conviction. Commissioner Myers requested Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 2 020223  clarification as to whether or not the language recommended would capture the intent expressed by Deputy Chief Harrison Daniel. Deputy Chief Daniel explained that the language did not specify that there would have to be a conviction of an ordinance violation, so it should capture any ordinance violations that are cited. Commissioner Thornton inquired about the length of the suspension of the permittee and event’s ability to incorporate the use of alcohol into a special under the recommended language. Staff explained that it would depend on if it is the first, second, or third and subsequent violations. The first violation would result in a 13-month suspension, and the second violation would result in a 25-month suspension; the third and subsequent violation(s) would result in a 60-month suspension. Commissioner Culpepper requested clarification about whether or not we would be able to deny the incorporation of alcohol into a special event. Deputy Chief Daniel explained that he would defer to the Attorney’s Office on the legality aspect; however, he noted that the previous ordinance did include provisions to that effect for convictions of ordinance violations. Deputy Chief Assistant Attorney Hines explained that it is to some extent up to the Mayor and Commission regarding if they would like to wait for a conviction, and, from a due process standpoint, that is the safest; however, she noted that the problem is that even ordinance violations due process can easily take around six months, and this will make it difficult to respond quickly, given the special events are typically planned months in advance. Gavin Hassemer clarified that the Manager also has the ability to deny the special event in general, regardless of whether or not alcohol is served, and this language is included in the actual special events ordinance that is separate from the section being reviewed. Deputy Chief Assistant Attorney Hines also noted that there is an appellate process that allows for an appeal to the Administrative Hearing Officer, so if anyone felt like it was denied inappropriately by the violation, it is built in the ordinance that they can appeal that decision for denial. Commissioner Houle inquired about whether or not the suspension for ordinance violations would still apply to events with a new event coordinator or, conversely, if it would apply to events with a different event title and the same event coordinator that was suspended. Commissioner Houle noted that they believe the previous version of the ordinance included language that explicitly stated event coordinator “and/or” the event. Deputy Chief Assistant Attorney Hines confirmed that the previous version did include reference to “any special event and affiliated permit holder”, so this would just need to be reincorporated into the new draft. Commissioner Houle requested that this also include “and/or”. Deputy Chief Assistant Attorney Hines agreed that it should include “and/or”. The Committee requested staff make that change in the updated document. Commissioner Myers requested clarification on whether an event that has a 4-block festival zone could also have a beer garden. Assistant Manager Jones and Deputy Chief Daniel explained that language is already included to allow events to have both a festival zone and beer gardens. Commissioner Myers asked the Committee if they were interested in asking Mayor to re-assign this topic to LRC in a year, after more data has been received, to revisit the discussion on possibly expanding festival zones. Commissioner Myers also requested Central Services staff send LRC announcements of these events, so the members can try to go and experience them. Commissioner Thornton agreed with Commissioner Myers and shared that she believed that some members of the public may have misunderstood and thought that expanding the festival zones was out of consideration; however, she explained that it is still up for consideration in the future, but there is a need for more information. Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 3 020223  Commissioner Houle explained that there was discussion at the last meeting regarding concerns for staffing impacts and requested to hear from Suki Janssen on the concerns for staffing. Suki Janssen explained that the festival zones are a lot more labor-intensive for litter pickup. They are going to have to do more sweeping and blowing; Solid Waste does not currently have a sweeper and may need to submit a request for one in the budget process if the festival zones are expanded or look to contract for that service. Compared to previous events, the incorporation of festival zones has caused there to be litter in the streets, and this cannot be left due to stormwater drain impacts and other environmental impacts. She also shared that this is the same way Savannah and other big cities address this same problem. Commissioner Houle explained that they felt that it would be helpful for staff to have the extra year to continue to experience the festival zones in order to put together a recommendation on what it would look like to expand festival zones, including relevant cost figures. Commissioner Myers agreed. Commissioner Wright expressed interest in having the Committee members also see the cleanup activities after the special event. Commissioner Houle also shared that another option to put a plan in place for event organizers to coordinate for volunteers to assist with litter pickup in partnership with Solid Waste. Gavin Hassemer shared that Central Services staff worked with the ACCGov Print Shop to create some templates and determine the size of the sign that can be produced in-house. He noted that, unfortunately, the largest size sign that can be produced does not meet the requirements of the ordinance in having letters that are at least 3 inches large, so they will need to contract with an outside vendor or print shop to develop the dozen or two dozen signs. He explained that Central Services is amenable to incurring the nominal cost of obtaining the signs, and they may be able to incorporate into the application a provision that requires the event coordinator to pay a penalty fee if the signs are not returned. Commissioner Wright made a motion to send the updated pilot special events ordinance (Sec. 6- 5-12 – Sale of beer and wine) to the full Mayor and Commission to codify it. Commissioner Thornton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Houle made a motion to request Mayor reassign the topic for review in a year. Commissioner Thornton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. D. Schedule/Agenda Changes The next LRC meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. *The April 6, 2023 LRC meeting was subsequently rescheduled to April 13, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. Commissioner Houle made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Thornton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 2:04 p.m. Legislative Review Committee Meeting Minutes Page 4 020223