Here's a copy of a letter one of the Mayors right hand council members has released... One down 3 to go. need to get 4 council members to vote against the banning of mooring in OUR Channel..
Friends,
Once again, a hot topic has surfaced from the City Council - Mooring. Reaction from the public has been very strong and one sided since our Mayor mentioned the notion of closing the south channel to mooring. I need to put all this in proper perspective from my viewpoint.
This issue came to council as a concern of our police dept. The police chief is concerned that they are understaffed in handling the big holiday crowds on the channel. New concerns from the chief are rising rival gang presence and illegal drug use along the channel. That was stated in his presentation. On the positive side, the Chief stated that instances of arrest, even with the zero tolerance policy, was down 29% from prior years.
The Mayor suggested that the problem could be easily corrected if the City were to simply close the south side of the channel to all mooring. That comment just fueled a fire of protest and the spin machine was up an going again. The comment was perhaps a little premature remembering that it came from a council work session. This issue is a work in progress with no council recommendations at this time.
So this last weekend I set up the council booth at the swap meet for the 9th time to listen to what the public is saying. I was there from 7:30 until 2 PM. The Mayor came and answered questions from 10 am until 2pm also. His viewpoint and answers were different than mine. The experience was good ( difficult at times) but I did learn quite a few viewpoints.
Here is what I heard:
The vast majority want mooring to continue in the Bridgewater Channel. People are very concerned that the elimination of mooring will adversely effect our primary business in town - tourism. People realize that sometimes a few get out of control and that law enforcement needs a very strong presence and they support the zero tolerance policy too. There seems to be no public feeling for a need to control alcohol consumption along the channel. I am hoping that those who know that tourism is very important to Havasu also realize that the English Village is a key factor is a city policy of strong support of tourism.
I must remember that this initial group is most likely primarily composed of those most upset with the idea of no mooring and those opposing this new city council on other issues too. I am interested in your input too. Please let me know your thoughts.
MY CONCLUSIONS TO DATE OF
THE CHANNEL ISSUE:
(Public Safety is the #1 concern)
- The City should take over jurisdictional law enforcement authority of Thompson Bay.
- On big weekends, travel thru the channel should be one way only from south to north.
- Jet ski traffic should be restricted from the channel during big holiday weekends only.
- Police presence needs to be increased on big holiday weekends using the mobile booking station.
- Random boater sobriety checks need to be conducted at both exits from the ends of the channel.
- Consider an increase in fines for non-compliance to posted no tolerance warnings signs.
I have asked the City Attorney to give me an update on the jurisdictional issues for enforcement of a no alcohol policy along the channel. There are different jurisdictional areas governing alcohol consumption along the channel. I am seeking a common policy of enforcement that makes sense should police dept want to pursue this approach to area control.
Bruce Hinman
City Council member