After a non-unanimous vote during Monday’s executive committee meeting, Milton City Council will discuss and vote Tuesday whether a waiver for the open container policy should be made available for special events.
Discussion began when Councilmember Marilyn Jones delivered her report as chairwoman for the city’s administration committee. The waiver also concerned the city’s parks and recreation, and the growth, development and annexation committees.
“The (administration) committee recommends approval to proceed with the open container policy at special events. I would like to move that provisions be added to the events application form that provide for exemptions to the open container, noise ordinance, animal direct control ordinance or any other ordinance,” Jones said.
Additionally, Jones added the policy would require the applicant make the request 60 days before the event, and would need to specify which area of the city park they would be using with a timeframe the proposed waiver would take place.
Council member Lloyd Hinote wanted to make clear the council wasn’t voting to change an already existing city ordinance.
“For clarification, the vote we are about to cast tonight is for the change of wording on our current application to include what (Jones) just covered. We are not voting in any way in changing the open container law,” Hinote said. “This vote tonight is simply for the creation of a revised application allowing a promoter or whoever to apply for this and it would then have to be approved by council.”
Council member Jimmy Messick said event promoters already have the option to approach the council in regards to seeking an ordinance waiver with the council’s permission.
“This proposed application is by no means any indication that the ordinance would be waived,” Messick said. “It was designed specifically to get away from the open container issue. There are several ordinances in the tourism district that any applicant for an event could come before the council right now and ask for a waiver of any of those ordinances, and as council, we would be required to act on it one way or the other.”
Messick stressed to the council this vote would in no way change the ordinance. The 60-day time frame, he said, would allow the proposed waiver to be brought before the parks and recreation committee, which reviews each special events application, before it would be presented before the council.
City Manager Brian Watkins said the option would give the council “tremendous flexibility in the review and approval process of all of the events on city property.”
Watkins said the proposed waiver would allow the council to approve the event but deny the ordinance waiver should they vote to do so.
Messick also added the proposed waiver would not promote misconduct. Should things get out of hand, Messick expects city police to properly intervene. Jones agreed.
“It is not a waiver of behavior,” she said.
Mayor Wesley Meiss said at least one of the council members is usually present and observant at the city events happening within city limits.
Both Hinote and fellow councilmember Patsy Lunsford voted against the waiver at the Monday meeting.
Watkins said since the vote was not unanimous, the issue will come before the council for another vote during Tuesday night’s meeting. If the vote had been unanimous it would have appeared on Tuesday night’s consent agenda.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton City Council to decide open container policy Tuesday