A draft ordinance to set a curfew for young people in Little Rock’s entertainment districts sparked disagreement among the city’s board of directors Tuesday evening. The ordinance would extend an existing curfew for a few hours specifically within the three entertainment districts: River Market, SoMa and in the Heights neighborhood. After several back-and-forth disagreements between directors, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said the vote on the curfew would be delayed until a special called meeting on June 13, which should give officials time to reach out for feedback.
At-large Director Antwan Phillips first raised concerns about the procedural steps to add the ordinance to the meeting agenda Tuesday. Phillips was concerned the ordinance was being put up for a vote without adequate feedback from the community. He said the ordinance was a good idea, but he would vote against it because of the rushed attempt to get the curfew enacted.
Phillips sent an email on Tuesday to his co-workers with seven outlined concerns. He wrote that the ordinance did not define a minor or explain violations, was not consistent with existing code-specific language and rushed the standard procedure. Because City Manager Bruce Moore moved to add the ordinance to the agenda without the standard discussion step at a planning meeting, a majority of six directors would have been needed to add the ordinance.
Directors Ken Richardson and Virgil Miller echoed Phillips’ concerns and said they would vote against putting the ordinance on the group’s agenda. Miller emphasized he would support taking action downtown, but he first wanted to reach out to the residents and businesses that would be impacted.
The curfew, which the Little Rock Police Department recommended, came in the wake of recent crime downtown. Over Memorial Day weekend, a body was found on the 400 Block of Scott Street and a shooting was reported midday at a River Market parking garage. The ordinance also had an emergency clause attached, which would have put the curfew into effect immediately.
Directors Dean Kumpuris, Lance Hines, Capi Peck and Kathy Webb voiced their support for voting on the curfew Tuesday.
“I think we’re telling the businesses down there that we can’t make a hard decision quickly,” Kumpuris said. “If you don’t want this part of town to survive, and if you don’t care about downtown, let’s put it off for two weeks. … It’s going to go to hell in a hand basket when we do that, and I’m really upset about it. … I’m tired of things happening and us not reacting to it the way we should.”
Phillips countered that doing something Tuesday or in two weeks would not mean that the city is going to hell in a hand basket. He urged the other directors to take the additional time to get more feedback from constituents.
Peck backed the curfew and said Little Rock residents told her they were scared to go downtown. Action needed to be taken quickly, she said.
Kumpuris ultimately suggested that the mayor call a special meeting on June 13 so directors could vote then.