-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Rome City Commission has approved an ordinance amendment to expand the boundaries and days of public consumption of alcohol in Downtown Rome.
The city already allows public consumption, mostly on Broad Street, between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with conditions.
The ordinance amendment expands that to seven days a week.
There are also changes to add a couple of new areas where public consumption would be permitted, such as the area of West First Street and West Second Street to include the Hampton Inn and the Days Inn. There is also a minor adjustment to include the newly constructed Floyd County amphitheatre by the library.
The vote to approve was 5-3.
Commissioners Elaina Beeman, Wayne Robinson, and Craig McDaniel all voted against.
“We’re exposing children to alcoholic consumption and families while they’re participating in utilizing the library,” Beeman said. “Our children now they become what they see, and if all they see is people walking down Broad Street having a good time because they got a drink in their hand, that’s sending out the wrong message.”
Commissioner Harry Brock, the city commission’s representative on the Rome Downtown Development Authority, shed some light on why the DDA requested the change.
“The main thing is that we wanna be able to provide, if we’re bringing people from these other communities that they used to been able to do this in the communities that are coming from the other places that they go to and participate in in a lot of cases these tournaments, and that kind of thing we’re just trying to provide the same up to to hear that they’re used to seeing other places,” he said.
