The Lafayette City-Parish Council will vote on an ordinance for final adoption Tuesday night that would prohibit open alcohol containers downtown and at the McKinley and Simcoe strips. The Lafayette City-Parish Council will vote on an ordinance for final adoption Tuesday night that would prohibit open alcohol containers downtown and at the McKinley and Simcoe strips. The ordinance originally failed by a 5-4 vote on Sept. 21, but was reintroduced Oct. 5 and passed unanimously as part of a batch of introductory ordinances voted on as a group by the council.
Since then, support for the measure appears to have shifted in favor of its passage. The Daily Advertiser polled each of the nine council members in an article published Monday, and while two of the five who voted against it in September declined to say how they would vote Tuesday, District 1 Councilman Purvis Morrison said he was leaning toward voting in favor after having witnessed activity downtown during a weekend night. The four councilmen who originally voted for the ordinance remained steadfast in their support.
The Independent Weekly endorsed the ordinance's passage in last week's cover story, "Why the Go Cup Matters," arguing that not only is it likely to address many of the public-safety issues police grapple with on weekends, but also that it applies only within the city limits of Lafayette and, based on council representation, its passage represents the will of the city.
The City-Parish Council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the council auditorium.