A month after approving a ban on sagging pants, the Columbus City Council voted 5-1 on Tuesday to implement the addition to the city’s indecent exposure ordinance. The new language was designed specifically to penalize those who wear their pants below the waist or hip. Commonly called the “sagging pants ordinance,” it was introduced by Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box who said it was modeled after a similar ordinance in Tupelo.
“We voted on it a first time 30 days ago and it was tabled,” Box said. “By voting on it a second time and with it passing with a majority vote, it is now an official ordinance. It can now be enforced by the Columbus Police Department.”
The ordinance is a revision of the city’s current indecent exposure policy. The new clause states, “…wearing pants or skirts below the top of the hip is hazardous both to the person wearing the garment and to the general public, as walking when pants are below the hip decreases the length of the stride and thereby increases the likelihood of tripping and falling and injuring oneself or others in the process. Hence, this Ordinance is adopted in furtherance of the City’s police powers, in the interest of health, sanitation and overall welfare for the community.” The ordinance also defines public indecency in four parts, including, “Intentionally wearing pants or skirts below the top of the hips (crest of the ileum) and exposing the skin or undergarments.
Violators of the ordinance will be reprimanded with a fine ranging from $75 to $250. Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem, who voted against the measure, questioned the council and City Attorney Jeff Turnage on how the fines will be distributed.
“If the fines range from $75 to $250, who is going to decide how much will be paid?” Karriem asked. “If a minor is fined, will the parents have to pay the fine?”
Turnage said the fines will be distributed at the discretion of the municipal judges.
The council also heard from concerned citizen Billy Perkins regarding his disdain for violators of the city’s loud music ordinance.
“We have a problem with loud music,” Perkins said during the citizen input section of the meeting. “I hear we no longer issue citations for violating the loud music ordinance. Then, I heard if they are given a citation it is thrown out in court. If this is happening, maybe there’s some fraud going on in the department?”
Mayor Robert Smith challenged Perkins on his lack of factual evidence.
“Mr. Perkins, you mentioned these citations had been thrown out of court,” Smith said. “Do you know this for a fact or is it just something you’ve heard?”
Perkins said he had no factual knowledge of his accusations and what he had presented to the council was “hearsay.”
City Engineer Kevin Stafford presented the council with two bids for the Old River Bridge project. This is the second time the council has received bids on the project.
Malouf Construction LLC, of Starkville, came in with the low bid at $2,386,000. Stafford said this amount is still slightly over budget.
“This bid is about $39,693 over our budget of $2.2 million,” Stafford said. “I think that we can find this money somewhere. It is my recommendation the council approve this bid from Malouf.”
The council unanimously approved Stafford’s request.
Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens requested an item be removed from the consent agenda and be placed on the policy agenda for discussion. The item was for the city to ratify a request to pay a contractor for work performed on Temple Cove.
In what has become a regular event at council meetings, Mickens called Public Works Director Mike Pratt before the council for questioning.
“Temple Cove falls under our paving projects,” Mickens said of the project which involves the city and Lowndes County. “Where is the money coming from to pay this contractor?”
Pratt said the money was to be used to pay a contractor for damages done to mailboxes.
“This money can come out of my budget if it has to,” Pratt said. “We messed these mailboxes up and we need to fix them.”
“Why do we have to pay this out of the city and not out of the bond money?” asked Mickens. “Why do we have to pay for this?”
Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor said repairing the mailboxes does not fall under the heading of a special projects.
“This is not a special project,” Taylor said. “These mailboxes were damaged by our employees and the city is responsible for replacing them.”
The council voted 5-1 to pay for replacing the mailboxes on an audible vote. Mickens voted against the measure.
In other action, the council agreed to distribute $1 million in remaining general obligation bond money among the six wards for paving projects. Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens voted against the motion.
Also, Jimmy Graham was re-appointed to the City Utilities Commission for a five-year term and Johnny Fisher was re-appointed to the Golden Triangle Airport Board for a five-year term.
The city also will move forward with the proposed scope of work from Siemens Corporation for energy savings services.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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