What We Want to Accomplish
Wilth federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, it is Columbia County Connects goal to reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults.This would be accomplished by addressing the factors in Columbia County that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse.To that end, Columbia County Connects will collaborate with local service groups that serve alcohol at festivals, fairs, and concession stands to help them pass a policy to restrict underage access to alcohol at these events.
Columbia County Connects will also support local Community Action Teams who are striving to make their communities a safer, healthier place by implementing policy and procedure changes to keep alcohol out of the hands of minors.
What's Happening in Columbia County Communities
In Columbus, the Columbus Community Action Team is working on an open air policy for their community.An open air ordinance is an ordinance that is designed to allow municipliaties to regular populations at social gatherings, as well as activities at social gatherings so as to align such events with the safety needs and well being of the community.
Why does the City of Columbus need an open air ordinance?
The city of Columbus currently has no way of regulating the number of people who can gather for certain events.This creates a hardship/hazard for the following reasons:
- There is conflict with the manpower available for staffing security at these events because currently there are no restrictions on populations allowed or deadlines for planning such events.
- There is currently no requirement for the host of events to own the financial responsibility of providing safety and security to patrons, nor the liability responsibility for pontential damages to pesons or property as a result of negligence.
- There are no regulations regarding the number of restroom facilities needed for large populous events.
- There currently are no regulations regarding the need for medical staff/ambulance services during highly populated events.
- There are currently no regulations on the types and amounts of alcohol that can be sold and consumed at any open air event.
- There are currently no regulations regarding evacuation plans for populations of such events should disasters occur.
If you are interested in becoming a part of the solution in Columbus, please contact Shontel Baesman at 920/623-0312 or onebnl@iwon.com.