The Chattanooga City Council approved 7-2 tonight an ordinance to ban minors from Coolidge Park without some type of adult supervision from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Councilmen Russell Gilbert and Andraé McGary voted against the ordinance.
The council approved the ordinance last week on first reading. A newly drafted ordinance was presented today during the Legal and Legislative Committee meeting that changed the hours to 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Another change included the stipulation that minors at the park during those hours would need to be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or an adult 21 and over.
The first draft just said minors would need to be accompanied by an adult.
Chattanooga Police Chief Bobby Dodd said it would be the “officer’s discretion” on whether a minor is picked up and taken to the juvenile detention facility.
Mayor Ron Littlefield said after the meeting that the city was in the process of renovating the South Chattanooga Recreational Center on 40th Street to act as a juvenile holding facility.
He said the recreation center should be equipped to handle the children by next week and the cost of fixing it up would be about $5,000 to $6,000.
For more information, read tomorrow’s edition of the Times Free Press.
Cliff has worked for the Times Free Press for five years and covers Chattanooga city government. He previously covered Rhea County, as well as transportation and growth and development in Southeast Tennessee. A native of Maryville, Tenn., Cliff graduated in 2003 from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis on journalism. Before coming to Chattanooga, he was a crime reporter with Hernando Today, a supplement of The Tampa (Fla.) ...
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