Scottsdale mayor to meet with Old Town club owners about overcrowding
May 27, 2020, 5:33 PM | Updated: 10:09 pm
(Facebook Photo/Mayor Jim Lane)
(Facebook Photo/Mayor Jim Lane)
PHOENIX — Following his frustration regarding Old Town club-goers over the holiday weekend, the mayor of Scottsdale said he will address the matter in a series of summits with establishment owners and local law enforcement.
The session of summits are scheduled to occur Thursday, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad on Wednesday.
“We really want to make sure we’re working as hard as we can to have a cooperative compliance in an environment where we’re collaborating together to make things work in a healthy and safe way,” Lane said.
Tuesday evening, the mayor condemned images of crowded Old Town establishments over the Memorial Day weekend as “disturbing” and having showcased “a real lack of common sense & civic responsibility.”
The images from Old Town Scottsdale this weekend are disturbing, & frankly show a real lack of common sense & civic responsibility. Businesses & their patrons need to realize that individually we each play an absolute part in our own personal hygiene, distancing… 1/
— Mayor W.J. Jim Lane (@MayorJimLane) May 27, 2020
Lane also said he’s already spoken with several Old Town establishment owners and has concluded that much of the crowding over the weekend was not due to deliberate violations on the part of the establishments.
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He said that the holiday weekend garnered travelers from areas across the country — such as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Midwest — that have different coronavirus protocols.
“It’s not establishments not trying to comply,” he said.
“A lot of these establishments were simply overwhelmed … by people who were anxious and sometimes angry that anyone would impose anything upon them.”
Despite the rowdy weekend, Lane said that most of his city’s businesses are reopening responsibly.
“Just about every establishment in the city of Scottsdale … the vast majority as we’ve opened up, have done it in a very responsible and good way.”
