Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety Events topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Blythewood council schedules special meeting after fights at Movies in the Park; postponement of events proposed
Summary
Following reported fights and arrests at a recent Movies in the Park event, council members debated postponing upcoming town events and agreed to schedule a special meeting to discuss public safety. A formal vote to postpone events was proposed and debated but not clearly recorded as adopted at the meeting.
The Town of Blythewood Town Council discussed public-safety concerns after a violent incident at a recent Movies in the Park event and moved to set a special meeting to discuss security at town events.
Councilman McKendrick proposed postponing future Movies in the Park screenings, the Juneteenth event and the town’s Rockin’ Red, White and Blue celebration “until we have a handle on security” after multiple arrests and reports of fights at a recent event. McKendrick moved to postpone those events; the motion was seconded, and council debated procedural requirements for adding final-action items that were not on the published agenda.
Town Attorney and other council members said that adding a final action to the agenda outside the published agenda would require a two-thirds vote and a finding of exigent circumstances. Council members discussed alternatives, and several said administrative action or a properly noticed special meeting would be a better way to develop a plan.
After conferring with staff and law enforcement, council members agreed to schedule a special meeting to focus on public-safety issues related to town events, including the Waffle House shooting reference, the recent park incident, and the town’s scheduled dark-hour events. Council discussed several possible dates and staff and the sheriff’s office were asked to attend. Council conversation settled on holding the special meeting on May 19 at 6 p.m., with staff tasked to confirm facility availability and to advertise the meeting publicly.
Councilman McKendrick and other members said they want a thorough discussion that includes the sheriff’s office and the juvenile solicitor about security, potential ordinance options (including a juvenile curfew), and event-management changes. Town staff said the juvenile-curfew concept could raise constitutional and legal questions and would need legal review before any ordinance was adopted.
At the close of the discussion, council directed staff to coordinate with the Richland County sheriff’s office, the juvenile solicitor and legal counsel, confirm a meeting date and facility availability, and advertise the meeting so the public could attend and weigh in on event safety. The transcript does not record a final, binding council vote to postpone the listed events; council instead agreed to convene the special meeting to address outstanding event-safety decisions.
