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Councilman Lee Garrison (left) talks with Will Harris, owner of the Chukker at the council's Tuesday (2/4/03) meeting		Councilman Walter Maddox voted against the ordinance Thursday (2/6/03) because it didn't end late night Friday

Friday is now the lone late night remaining in Tuscaloosa.

On Thrusday, February 6th, the City Council voted 5-2 to approve an ordinance vote that prohibits local bars from serving alcohol after 1:45 a.m. Monday through Thursday. All alcohol sales are still banned on Sunday, but a tradition of opening bars after Sunday midnight is also over.

For years, local bars have operated at all hours of the week, except on Sunday. It's been going on so long that people consider it one of their private rights as a citizen. But various local officials (Northport and Tuscaloosa City Councils, Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, University of Alabama and others ...) believe those late hours have helped bring Tuscaloosa a reputation as a party town. They say that reputation is hurting economic growth and social health.

The new late night restrictions, also approved recently in Northport, are one step toward remedying that. Tuscaloosa councilman Lee Garrison said the council tried to strike a compromise by preserving late night hours during the weekend.

"We've got visitors coming in from out of town for Alabama home games on Friday night and conventions and other things. Also, I got a lot of frank calls from people who said 'Look, I don't go out during the week. But on the weekend if I want to go out, I'm 40-something years old, why should government tell me I shouldn't be able to?" Garrison said.

Councilman Jerry Plott also voiced his reservations about trampling the rights of 120,000 private citizens for the misdeeds of about a thousand students. Plott said he voted for the compromised ordinance because he thought it would make a difference. But Friday's absence from the late night ban did not sit well with councilmen Joe Powell and Walter Maddox, who wanted the ban to apply across the board. Maddox said he supports ending late night hours, but he doesn't support the ordinance.

"In my mind, I don't know how you can ignore the Friday and Saturday hours. You're going to have the binge drinking, the vandalism and you increase the chances for possibly date rape. If we know this to be true, why would we ignore that? We would never completely eliminate acts of violence or inappropriate acts on the campus, we know that. But we know we could reduce the chances. We also know we could reduce the chance on Friday night, but we missed an opportunity to do that." said Maddox.

The new restrictions on serving hours for Tuscaloosa County nightclubs are one of twelve recommendations recently released by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. Chamber president Johnnie Aycock said the recommendations are aimed at increasing the local quality of life for everyone. Aycock said the ban, and other measures, could help bring a more stable social environment to the community. That in turn, could draw more University students.

“Currently, the University of Alabama’s economic impact in this community on an annual basis is around $785 million dollars. If the University was to grow by two thousand students over the next 6 to 7 years, the economic impact grows to more than $1.1 billion dollars annually." said Aycock.

Other parts of the Chamber's plan to improve Tuscaloosa’s quality of life include mandatory Friday classes for University freshmen and sophomores, increased parental involvement for underage alcohol and drug offenders, academic sanctions for University students who violate alcohol and drug laws, and increased support for neighborhood groups. Wilhagan's owner Bill Lloyd says local leaders need more than a single ordinace to accomplish their intended goal.

"(The ordinance) is not going to change alcohol abuse issues because students are just going to leave the bar and go to the neighborhoods. Where is there going to be more access to alcohol to underage people ... where they're getting carded at bars as they walk in the door, or going to their buddy's apartment with a refrigerator full of beer? (Outside of bars) you don't have anyone cutting people off and offering them cab rides home. If there's a confrontation, you don't have sober people there to take care of it." said Lloyd.

Councilman Garrison said they have done their part as the city council. Now the University has to do its part by setting tough alcohol policies for students to follow. He also says the council will review the late night ordinance in a year to see if it is working.

"We will look at it again in January and see. Are the neighborhoods having more house parties? Are bars and restaurants owners going out of business? Is there more or less crime reported to police. We're going to look at all that and decide whether this is a good or bad policy." Garrison said.

The new late night restrictions take effect March 1st, 2003. Tuscaloosa Police Cheif Ken Swindle will meet with local bar owners in late February to discuss the change in alcohol policies.

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