People are still welcome in city parks here, but alcoholic beverages, golf clubs and arrows are not.
The City Council on Tuesday night voted 5-1 to amend a city ordinance, an action that makes possession of alcoholic beverages in city parks a misdemeanor. Previously, the law prohibited consumption of alcoholic beverages in parks.Mayor Joe Jenkins told council members that it is difficult to arrest someone for consumption of alcohol unless a police officer witnesses that consumption or the person is inebriated. A law prohibiting possession of alcohol is much easier to enforce, he said.
Councilman V. Ben Porter, who voted against the amendment, expressed concern about how the law might be applied. "If I'm a scroungy looking, long-hair who picks up a half-empty can of beer to throw in the garbage, I could get arrested," Porter said. "I have a problem with that."
The second amendment affecting park activities adds new sections to the nuisance provision, making it unlawful to play or practice golf, shoot or otherwise propel arrows or to engage in any other activity that threatens the safety or well-being of other persons in a city park.
"For some reason people like to practice golf and shoot arrows in the parks," Jenkins said. For that reason, the amendment specifically listed those activities as unlawful.
Action on a proposed ordinance that would have established a curfew for public-school grounds was postponed indefinitely. Also, during a work session before the council meeting Tuesday, action on an ordinance that would have prohibited the use of radios and tape or disc players in city parks was continued for four weeks. In the interim, the city will increase enforcement of disturbing-the-peace, noise-nuisance and decibel-level ordinances to try to eliminate noise problems in city parks.
Residents in the Wasatch-Kiwanis Park neighborhood in northeast Provo had asked the city to amend several ordinances as part of an effort to solve problems caused by park activities they believe are undesirable and jeopardize the safety of neighborhood children.