Wilkes-Barre council takes up temporary suspension of open-consumption rule for Rockin' the River

The Wilkes-Barre City Council considered a resolution to temporarily suspend the city ordinance that prohibits open consumption of alcoholic beverages for the Rockin' the River festival scheduled in July. The item, presented by the clerk, lists the event dates in the transcript as July 17, 24, 24 and 31; the record repeats July 24 twice and does not clarify whether that was an error.

Why it matters: A temporary suspension of the open-consumption ordinance would allow attendees at the River Colony events to possess and consume alcoholic beverages in designated festival areas during the listed dates, subject to any conditions adopted by the council or event organizers. Council members emphasized the festival's local significance and public-safety record in arguing for the suspension.

Council discussion: A council member present noted this would be the seventh year of the event and that prior years had produced no reported problems. Charlie, speaking for the mayor's office because the mayor was unavailable, described the administrative handling of related finance information; he said finance is receiving necessary tax information from primary and secondary jurisdictions for confidentiality and security and that the information remains within the finance office rather than the mayor's office.

What was decided: The transcript records the agenda item and discussion but does not include the text of a motion, the name of a mover/second, or a recorded vote. Because no formal action or outcome appears in the provided record, it is not possible to report whether the resolution passed, was amended, or was postponed based on this transcript alone.

Next steps: The council did not record a vote in the provided transcript. If the suspension is to take effect, a subsequent meeting record or the city clerk's office should contain the formal motion, vote tally, and any conditions attached to the suspension.