Action by council prohibits liquor in Sutton Park.

Although the process of adopting a 2008 budget dominated the regular monthly meeting of the Suttons Bay Village Council last week, the council also acted on a variety of other issues.

At their Nov. 19 meeting, council members voted 7-0 to adopt an amendment to a village ordinance setting rules at village parks and lake access points. The amendment was designed to make it clear that possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in Sutton Park is prohibited, according to village president Larry Mawby.

The amendment contains a definition of “alcoholic liquor” in one section and, in another section, specifically prohibits such substances in Sutton Park.

In considering an amendment to the village’s Mass Gatherings Ordinance, however, the board’s vote was split. A proposed amendment to the ordinance would have allowed for mass gathering permits to be issued free of charge to those who may be “indigent.”

The principal proponent of the change was newly appointed Village Council member Jackie Freeman, who argued that making poor people pay for a mass gatherings permit would violate their Constitutional rights to free speech and peaceable assembly. A draft change approved by the village attorney would have defined an “indigent” in the same way that the county Department of Human Services defines eligibility for the Family Independence Program (FIP).

However, during last week’s meeting, Freeman pointed out that the FIP is no longer in effect and proposed an amendment to her proposed amendment that would redefine an indigent as someone whose income falls below a designated level.

Although a motion to amend the amendment carried in a 6-1 vote, with trustee Bob Johnson opposed, a motion to adopt the entire amendment to failed in a 4-3 vote. Opposed were Johnson as well as trustees Donna Herman, Steve Mentzer and Karl Bahle.

“I just don’t understand why we would want a special provision for indigents in the ordinance at all,” Johnson said.

In other business at its meeting last week, the Suttons Bay Village Council:

• Concurred with committee assignments as outlined by village president Mawby. Herman and Johnson will serve on the Legislative Committee. Bahle and trustee Kara Petroskey will serve on the Utilities Committee. Freeman and Mentzer will serve on the Public Works Committee. And Mentzer will continue to serve as Streets Administrator.

• Endorsed Mawby’s nomination of Jim Munro to serve as an alternate member of the village Zoning Board of Appeals, filling the remainder of Freeman’s term expiring in February 2010.

• Endorsed Mawby’s nomination of Jason Harrall to serve on the village Planning Commission, filling the remainder of Mentzer’s term expiring in February 2008.

• Endorsed an application for $11,000 in tribal “2-percent” casino revenue funding for the Suttons Bay-Bingham District Library. An application to the Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians from the library outlines the library board’s $24,950 plan to procure additional computer hardware, furniture, books and tapes.