Back in January when the City Commission voted 3-2 to extend the bar hours from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. it appears no one checked with the higher education community.
Well, no need to call them now.
Ahead of the City Commission’s scheduled reconsideration of the vote tomorrow, leaders at FSU, FAMU, and TCC, have sent a letter to Mayor Gillum and the City Commissioners and their position is clear.
They said, “We were surprised when the City Commission voted in January to extend the establishments’ hours. As committed community partners, we hope that you will take the opportunity to correct this error. ”
And they added, “We would like to make it clear – extending the closing time for these establishments sends a message to our students, and it is the wrong message.”
The letter, provided below, was signed by the Vice Presidents for Student Affairs of FSU, FAMU and TCC.
Back in January, Mayor Andrew Gillum, City Commissioners Nancy Miller and Curtis Richardson voted for the change, while City Commissioners Gil Ziffer and Scott Maddox voted against the proposal based on public safety concerns.
The three that voted in favor of the extended hours showed little concern about the public safety issues during the debate.
The letter was also signed by the Chiefs of Police of FSU, FAMU, and TCC.
TR will have a report on the vote tomorrow.
FSU, FAMU, & TCC Call Out City of Tallahassee Over Bar Hours Vote added by Staff on
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Bars closing at 2pm was never an issue in the early/mid 90’s.
Weren’t we #1 in the State in crime? Now our colleges along with law enforcement are telling us that this will make things worse? My guess is that since we already have the state title, COT is trying for the national championship.
Thank you, higher education, for exposing the tone-deafness of our City Commission
Michael K: .Losing businesses: You’re talking about it but not helpfully. Share your data. There is no evidence that 500 viable businesses have been lost to the local economy because of City regulations and oversight.
My guess as to the number; none.
If a bar doesn’t have any trouble, what’s the problem? I don’t want city hall to have any more control over businesses in this city. We’ve already lost 500 businesses in the last few years and NO ONE is talking about that other than Steve Stewart and Preston Scott.
I believe that the problem is…what kind of a city are you creating, and whom are you attracting? Do bars attract families, outdoor enthusiasts, or athletes. OR Do late night bars attract impressionable college students? It seems that some of the staff at all three of our local higher learning institutions feel that the extended bars hours creates the message that Tallahassee is a party town. Recently, I went to Savannah, Georgia. I had been to Savannah about 15 years ago. I do not know what time their bars close, but I do know that Savannah has gone from a old, quaint, charming southern town to a place that reeks of urine on the street. Now it you want to live in a city where you are walking in and smelling other people’s urine, I encourage you to move to New Orleans or Savannah. Don’t worry, we’re on the fast track out of Leon County.
Michael, you missed the point. The question is not whether the bars are having any problems but whether or not the later closing times cause problems for the community, including college students. By definition, some bar patrons become intoxicated, become belligerent, fight, get sick, etc. Then they drive home. See the problem yet? Later closing hours just adds to the problem.
A lot of the members of the community were concerned about the vote to extend the hours. Commissioner Miller responded to that concern by calling for a re-vote. I’m sure she would like to take back her original vote, as would Mayor Gillum and Commissioner Richardson.
APPLAUSE!!!!!
Where are letters from the Presidents of those institutions? In my view those should have been first out of the box. Actually, such letters would have been appropriate after the first vote by the Commission to extend the hours..