Telluride Passes New Ordinance Re: Drinking in Town Park

[FaceOnMars]

So it looks like the Telluride Town Council has taken measures to curb drinking in Town Park when nothing is going on.   It won't apply to the actual festival (TBF) or the actual campgrounds, but it looks like it might now be a no-no to walk with a beer from the campgrounds to any other location in Town Park during the week before TBF (forgot the acronym bandied about here, ABACAB? ) ... unless there's a softball game in progress to extend the range you can walk around with your libation in hand.  At least that's my take on things at first glance, I could easily be wrong.

The other side of this has to do with the behavior they're trying to curtail, namely drinking 24x7 365 under the DIA white tent near the park entrance by some "regulars".  Not sure how this is going to play out, since there are always unintended consequences.  I'm sure the Marshalls will now try to put the kiabash on drinking there, but my guess is that it'll cause the regulars to simply find another location ... maybe more out of site, but still in or near the park (I know that some of them won't spend the effort to hike very far, even to the stone couch).   

http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2012/11/28/news/doc50b563b29034e103625345.txt

Town restricts open container rules for Town Park

Tightens rules for where and when people can drink
By Katie Klingsporn
Editor
Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 7:27 PM CST

In June of 2009, the Telluride Town Council approved an ordinance that allowed open containers of alcohol in most of Town Park — the town’s hub for softball games, camping, soccer matches, games of horseshoes and other activities.

The ordinance allowed open containers in all parts of the park except the skatepark, pool and within any structure, including the Hanley Pavilion. It was put into place to accommodate uses like camping and spectator sports like softball.

In the years since, however, unintended consequences have arisen that have forced the town to rethink its open container exemption of Town Park.

Namely, complaints have been coming in of disruptive behavior related to drinking in the park. Telluride Chief Marshal Jim Kolar said parents and others called over the summer to complain about prolonged drinking and unruly or rude behavior in close proximity to youth programs or facilities in the park.

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“Some folks had just camped out there and made it an all night party place,” Kolar said.

The complaints forced the town to reconsider its rules, and The Parks and Recreation Commission, with help from the Marshals Department, came up with revisions aimed at quelling the problems.

Last week, the Telluride Town Council approved an ordinance that incorporates those revisions into its Town Park policy.

The ordinance restricts the exemption of open containers to certain areas in Town Park, and it also extends the exemption into Hanley Rink for adult hockey games.

The ordinance will allow open containers for the following uses or locations:

• Guests registered at any campsite in Town Park.

• Scheduled adult recreational program participants and spectators, including adult league hockey games.

• Scheduled private functions.

• Scheduled special events.

The Parks & Rec Commission came up with the changes over the summer in response to direction to review the policy from the town council. The aim was to create an ordinance that could be implemented in a way that is simple for citizens to understand and for marshals to enforce.

Town Manager Greg Clifton said the open container exemption was put into place to accommodate uses like camping and spectator sports, and the town still wanted to be able to accommodate them.

“I don’t think those activities in and of themselves are creating issues. I think Town Park becoming a venue for those who just want to hang out all day drinking was the issue,” he said. “I think the Parks & Rec Commission, which struggled with this one for some time, came up with a very thoughtful suggestion.”

[Bevin]

Sounds like a great idea to me.

Years ago, there were no "regulars" in Telluride, or in Town Park.  Then one year, maybe 2005 or so, a moocher showed up roaming the campground.  The next year a cooler was stolen, then a purse.  Then the "regulars" started showing up at Tropical Tuesday and Rumballs.  Their numbers have grown recently, as has their belligerence.  Two years ago these "regulars" participated in a violent incident in the Park during festival week, and certain of them continue to stalk the campground for food or booze left unattended.  Our Town Park campground hosts have done a great job curbing this behavior in recent years, but I usually feel great relief when wristband control descends on the Town Park campground on Thursday because, when camping, we are all exposed to a certain extent. 

Last summer I witnessed one of these "regulars", without provocation, beat the crap out of a drunk Native American man in front of Baked on the Monday before Festival.  I would never in a million years have ever guessed I'd see such a thing in Telluride.  What a buzz kill. 

It's one thing to struggle to make it in a Rocky Mountain resort town, but it's another thing entirely when you take your struggles out on everyone else, steal from people, commit acts of violence, or just sit on your ass drinking all day and making rude comments to passers by about how they're "invading" your space, or whatever.  If I was a parent in Telluride, I'd want those "regulars" run out of town on a rail.

Albuquerque has a pretty sizeable homeless population, but for the most part they are people who are temporarily down on their luck, or disabled, or mentally ill.  Many of the "regulars" of Telluride seem largely to be young, mostly healthy, drunken dirtbags who have deliberately chosen the dirtbag lifestyle and enjoy getting in your face.  Anything the Town can do to increase security and mitigate dirtbag behavior in the Park during festival week gets my support.

[FaceOnMars]

Sounds like a great idea to me.

Years ago, there were no "regulars" in Telluride, or in Town Park.  Then one year, maybe 2005 or so, a moocher showed up roaming the campground.  The next year a cooler was stolen, then a purse.  Then the "regulars" started showing up at Tropical Tuesday and Rumballs.  Their numbers have grown recently, as has their belligerence.  Two years ago these "regulars" participated in a violent incident in the Park during festival week, and certain of them continue to stalk the campground for food or booze left unattended.  Our Town Park campground hosts have done a great job curbing this behavior in recent years, but I usually feel great relief when wristband control descends on the Town Park campground on Thursday because, when camping, we are all exposed to a certain extent. 

Last summer I witnessed one of these "regulars", without provocation, beat the crap out of a drunk Native American man in front of Baked on the Monday before Festival.  I would never in a million years have ever guessed I'd see such a thing in Telluride.  What a buzz kill. 

It's one thing to struggle to make it in a Rocky Mountain resort town, but it's another thing entirely when you take your struggles out on everyone else, steal from people, commit acts of violence, or just sit on your ass drinking all day and making rude comments to passers by about how they're "invading" your space, or whatever.  If I was a parent in Telluride, I'd want those "regulars" run out of town on a rail.

Albuquerque has a pretty sizeable homeless population, but for the most part they are people who are temporarily down on their luck, or disabled, or mentally ill.  Many of the "regulars" of Telluride seem largely to be young, mostly healthy, drunken dirtbags who have deliberately chosen the dirtbag lifestyle and enjoy getting in your face.  Anything the Town can do to increase security and mitigate dirtbag behavior in the Park during festival week gets my support.

Bevin, it's difficult to argue against trying to halt violent behavior and other types of related baggage!  I find it extremely challenging to be around hardcore drunk people to begin with ... they either love you or hate you and are often "close talkers" to boot.  Given my nature, I give anyone a chance in a conversation, so I'm often roped into chatting with a very low signal to noise ratio for much longer than I would've cared to spend.  This past summer, I've found myself taking the trail behind the bathrooms toward the skateboard park or clear around the other way to avoid the big group if I wasn't in the mood with dealing and wanted to be in the park.

I've personally never been afraid of any of them, and am even friendly with a couple who have been around Telluride for a long time - they've each have had their ups and downs with drinking.  Both of these people are musicians and it's difficult to picture either becoming violent.   A little beligerant at their worst, but never violent.    Having said that I have definitely picked up on some more negative vibes from one or two others who seem more like bad apples in the bunch ... and at least one person who might have psychological issues who talks to himself and extends on that by talking to himself much more loudly when you approach near him ... maybe it's kind of like "his way" of communicating, but it's a bit obtrusive to me as a decent sized guy & can imagine that it might be a bit intimidating to someone who's not as physically matched, or is older/younger, or just not expecting it.   But most of the rest of the group kind of falls somewhere in the middle.  I have noticed the profile of the group changes over the course of the summer in so far as picking up a person here or dropping a person there as people who are traveling/wandering the country happen to stop in or depart from Telluride.  And yes, many are younger "hippie types" ... some of which fit right in, some of which kind of, and some just don't.

Regardless of my impressions, I don't think it's a compatible use to be allowed to drink yourself to death day in and day out immediately at an entrance to the park and adjacent to the playground / kids' fishing pond.  Just being Devil's advocate, it's an interesting juxtaposition and perhaps a double standard, when you consider that many of the softball players are heavily into the routine of drinking TONS & that goes down right next to the other playground.  I realize it's not a day in day out habit, but it's accepted nonetheless.

I suspect a lot of the DIA tent regulars will probably now become "softball fans", in addition to finding new venues to consume.  It's possible there might even be more hostility directed toward bluegrass & softball people by the bad apple component ... not saying this is reason to have allowed them to be where they were, but just throwing it out there that there might be more unintended consequences or a "backlash".