Over the last week and a half, I have received many letters concerning some of the actions that the Port Huron City Council wants to take. Many of these letters have been positive, while some have been negative. Anytime change and alcohol are mentioned in the same sentence, there is bound to be controversy. The city of Port Huron has a very diverse population when it comes to the beliefs of its residents and every one of you is entitled to your beliefs. I however, believe that Port Huron needs to loosen the restriction that it has placed on its citizens over the years.

First, I would like to mention that I would like to see the council start working on some of the larger issues that Port Huron is facing. The council, in all reality, will be making decisions in the future that will cost people their jobs with the city, or a portion of the pay the receive from the city. We owe it to all city employees who will be affected by these decisions as much notice as possible. This I cannot stress enough.

With that being said, the issue of allowing alcohol in city parks is the current “big” issue that the council is facing and we must make a decision. I just do not see all the problems happening that some people have predicted. If people want to go out and get drunk, they will find a place to make this happen. Not allowing alcohol in the parks is not going to stop someone from getting drunk or driving drunk.

Will we see problems with this ordinance change? Probably. I am positive that there will be people out there who will be quick to notify the council members/city police of every little problem they see. There are always going to be those people who want to say, “I told you so”. People make bad choices sometimes. For the most part, I believe that the majority of citizens who want to go and enjoy an alcoholic beverage will do so responsibly.  We need to trust the average person will do the right thing a majority of the time. Anyone who is abusing this new privilege should know that many people are going to be watching him or her.

I still chuckle a little every time someone says that we will be seeing drunken people all over town because of this change. The council is not going after the public drunkenness laws. These laws will still be the same as they are now. I would even be in favor of stiffening the fines that people receive for being drunk in public. Again, I think common sense will win out in this situation.

I have also been asked the question on how allowing alcohol in the parks will help with tourism in Port Huron. I am not sure anyone really can answer this question with any certainty. While I do not think it will hurt tourism any, my best guess is that we will see a very small increase in residents from other cities around Port Huron visiting our parks. I am not in favor of changing this ordinance because people from outside the city want it; I am in favor of this change for Port Huron residents.

Some council members have said that making this change while discussing bringing back the DARE officer seems counterproductive. I would have to disagree. No where in this ordinance are we encouraging people under the age of twenty-one to drink. The DARE officer’s job is to educate youth in the fifth grade to resist violence and drugs. This is a good thing. The students that the DARE officer teaches will not be the ones using this new freedom. If they are, then there is something wrong with the parents of that child, not society. Also, I have never seen any paperwork that said we are trying to bring back the DARE officer.

As Sam Cooke once sang, change is going to come. This is one of the reasons that I believe that I was elected to the Port Huron City Council. I am determined to help lead Port Huron in a better direction. Change is never easy and is seldom brought about without some resistance. I have a better understanding of this now. I do not believe in change just for the sake of change, but I do believe in change for the betterment of the people. Again, this is just one small step in a positive direction for Port Huron. Hopefully in the future, Port Huron can become a friendlier city to its residents, and a city that people are proud to call home.

Alan Lewandowski

Port Huron City Council Member