Tag: Memphis City Council

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Council Sides With Neighborhood Association Against Waste Site Proposal

CREDIT: Waste Connections

Waste Connections

A waste collection company whose operations border a Whitehaven community asked the Memphis City Council Tuesday for the green light to reposition the site’s layout.

Officials with Waste Connections said its proposal would have been better for the neighboring residents, but after more than an hour of debate, the council voted it down.

Currently, the 30-acre waste transfer site near Brooks Road sits right behind more than a dozen homes. It collects 900 tons of waste each day. The company said its proposal would have moved its operation further away from the residents and created a larger buffer zone.

But, members of the McCorkle Road Neighborhood Association spoke in opposition to the proposal, urging the council to vote against it. They cited a rodent-control problem, loud noises, strong odors, and possible exposure to hazardous chemicals as common concerns among the residents.

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Rita Davis, who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, said she lives right behind the site and can’t “tolerate it.” She said there are “rats as big as cats jumping out at you” in her backyard. She also said a “horrendous stench” comes from the facility.

“There is a horrendous problem with garbage disposal one street over from a neighborhood that’s been established since the ’60s,” Davis said. “Now, it’s like a dead zone. You can’t have fun. You can’t enjoy your backyard.”

Another resident, Yvonne Nelson, wanted the council to agree to conditions that the company would have to adhere to if its proposal was approved. Some of those requests included relocation expenses of $200,000 per household affected by the site, pest control, an odor control system, and reduced hours of operation.

Council members responded that they don’t have the legislative authority to require the company to agree to such provisions.

“We’re tired and we want you to listen to us,” Nelson said. “We live there. We live this. You came and visited for five minutes and you left.”

Adrian Bond, representing Waste Connections, said “we’ve got fact versus fiction” and “improvement versus fears.”

Bond said many of the concerns the neighbors expressed, such as proximity to the site and noise levels, would have been mitigated with the relocation. He said the company’s operations are too confined and that in order to create a larger buffer zone between residents’ houses and the site, the company needs to reposition its layout.

“The council has the opportunity to put things in place to ensure that these neighbors and Waste Connections can coexist,” Bond said. “A no vote is a travesty because it doesn’t address the issues.”

Bobby Ladley with Waste Connections said he’s been tasked with fixing the issues the neighborhoods presented, but said “I simply don’t have the room right now.” Bond added that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Memphis Public Works, the health and fire departments, and vector control have not cited any issues or violations at Waste Connections’ site.

 Bond said the company is aware of the rodent problem, but does not believe Waste Connections is the culprit. “We never doubted there was a rodent problem,” Bond said. “Our contention is that it’s not because of Waste Connections.” Bond said the rodents are coming from a nearby vacant apartment building, which he said was verified by a pest control company.

Before the 12-1 vote, several members of the council, including Berlin Boyd and Martavious Jones, maintained that a “no” vote would not change the neighbors circumstances. “Voting no keeps everything the same,” Boyd said. “ It does not improve.”

Councilman Sherman Greer said he believed voting in favor of the proposal would be best for the residents, but instead he chose to “vote how the constituents want me to.”


“I’m going to follow you and cast a no vote,” Greer said to the neighbors. “I don’t think it helps you, though. I’m going to cast that vote the way you want, but I think it’s the wrong vote for you.”

Councilman Worth Morgan, the sole member to vote for the proposal said the case “makes the least amount of sense in terms of where the opposition is coming from.”

“These are usually things the neighbors come together and argue for,” Morgan said. “In my best judgment, this actually improves conditions in the neighborhood for y’all rather than a step backward or keeping them the same, which is what a no vote does.”

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Chairman Kemp Conrad disagreed, echoing a resident’s sentiment that “you don’t expand a house to take care of a house you currently have.”

Conrad said many of the items Waste Connections is proposing could have been done without council approval. He also questioned why there hasn’t been any outreach with the community until recently.

“Had y’all been better neighbors until this point and there was trust between you all and the neighbors, I would think they probably would support what you’re talking about doing,” Conrad said. “You would have built the goodwill needed to get support for this project. You don’t need our vote to do that and if this fails, I hope you do it.”

Councilwoman Gerre Currie said even with the proposal being voted down, there are still options the company can pursue. Currie said she and residents will work with Waste Connections to form a “harmonious relationship,” moving forward.

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Hearing Could Expedite Instant Runoff Voting Decision

Proponents of Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) want the voting system in place for the upcoming October elections but they say a September hearing set on the matter will not allow for it.

In 2008 and in 2018, Memphis voters approved IRV. The system prevents runoff elections among top candidates that are held after typical, city-wide voting days. This, proponents say, allows elections here to be won by a sliver of Memphis voters and disenfranchises voters who may find it hard to get themselves to the polls.

Tennessee Election Coordinator Mark Goins said after the 2018 elections here that IRV does not comply with state law and that IRV could not be implemented here this year. That opinion is being contested in a separate case.

City council hopefuls Erika Sugarmon, John Marek, and Sam Goff filed a lawsuit in May to ensure the method was in place for the October 3rd elections here, in which every Memphis City Council seat is open.

However, the case is contested and the next hearing on the matter is set for September 10th, according to court papers. Those proponents say that timeline will not allow IRV to be ready for the October elections.
Davidson County Chancery Court

Chancellor Lyle

Last week, Sugarmon, Marek, and Goff pushed for an expedited hearing. So, Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle set a hearing on the matter in her courtroom for Wednesday, June 26th. That hearing may yield a decision that will govern IRV implementation for the October 3rd election.

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Memphis Could Outright Ban Plastic Bags

Plastic bags at retail stores could soon be a thing of the past here, as the Memphis City Council is looking to ban retail stores’ distribution of plastic bags to customers at checkouts.

The ban would prohibit the distribution of single-use plastic bags at checkouts in retail establishments with 2,000 square feet or more. Back in November, councilman Berlin Boyd first proposed a seven-cent fee on plastic bags that shoppers take from retail stores. He then reduced the proposed fee to five cents earlier this year.

Votes on the ordinance were held several times after a new Tennessee law was signed by Gov. Bill Lee in April. The law bans local governments from regulating the “use, disposition, or sale of an auxiliary container.”

Now, the council is waiting for a legal opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office on whether or not Memphis’ amended ordinance would violate the law.

The council will return to the issue at its July 2nd meeting.

If passed, each violation of the ordinance would result in a $50 fine.

According to the draft of the ordinance, sponsored by Boyd and Chairman Kemp Conrad, plastic bags place a cost burden on municipal trash and recycling operations, citing that only 1 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

The ordinance also states that the measure is meant to ensure “sustainable stewardship of the city’s environmental treasures, and a responsibility to prevent plastic bags from polluting and clogging our waterways and endangering wildlife and the broader ecosystem.”

If the council passes the measure, exceptions to the ban would include newspaper bags, dry cleaning and garment bags, bags provided by pharmacists, and take-out bags from restaurants.

The ban would also not include bags used to package loose items such as produce or candy.

If approved, the ban would take effect in January 2021.


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Council Recap: Budget Passes Without Delay, Beale Street Cover Stays

The Memphis City Council passed the 2020 fiscal budget Tuesday after little discussion.

A large portion of the budget is dedicated to public safety, as the council voted to give both Memphis Police Department officers and Memphis Fire Department personnel a 4 percent pay increase — up 1 percent from what Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland proposed in April.

The 4 percent raise will cost an additional $2 million, according to the city’s chief operating officer, Doug McGowen.

Before the vote, representatives with the Memphis Police Association (MPA) urged the council to pass a budget including a 5 percent raise, which the council had agreed upon during an impasse hearing late last month.

Deborah Godwin with the MPA told the council she was there to make sure the council included that 5 percent raise in the budget it passed Tuesday.

According to Godwin, the city’s impasse ordinance requires the council to pass a budget with the amount agreed upon during the impasse.

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However, council attorney Allan Wade said the council’s role is to solve the dispute between the unions and the administration. But, any decision the council makes during an impasse, isn’t binding.

John Covington, chief negotiator for MPA told the council that 5 percent is an important number.

“Any kind of raise is welcomed,” Covington said. “Police officers can never be paid enough. That 5 percent number was important, though, because it sends a message about recruitment, as well as morale.”

Covington said police pay is an important part of creating a “safe and prosperous community.”

Michael Williams, president of MPA echoed those sentiments, adding that he wants to “trust the system to actually work.”

“We still want to trust the council to do what’s right,” Williams said. “You always ask us to trust the system, trust the process. You guys heard our proposal, heard the city’s proposal, and adopted our proposal.”


Without discussion, the council voted unanimously in favor of the amended budget.

The newly passed budget also includes a 1 percent pay raise for all city employees and no property tax rate increase, which remains at $3.19.

The council also voted Tuesday to keep the $5 cover charge to enter Beale Street in place until the end of September.

The fee was put in place after a pair of shootings and stampedes took place one weekend in May. Now it will be in place on Friday and Saturday nights, except on nights when conditions aren’t conducive to large crowds.

Conrad said the $5 fees will go toward implementing security measures on the street, such as installing more SkyCops. About $600,000 is needed.

Before the vote, Councilman Martavious Jones said he will not support the cover charge without seeing data showing that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between having a fee in place and the number of incidents that occur on the street.

Jones maintained that having the fee in place over Memorial Day weekend did not deter crowds from rushing the street and causing disturbances.

But, Jennifer Oswalt, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission, said the fee has “proven effective” and that there is evidence that the $5 fee is substantial enough to decrease the crowd just enough to reduce the likelihood of a stampede that results in a serious injury.

“It doesn’t reduce it such that no one comes to Beale Street,” Oswalt said. “It’s not as effective as a $10 fee at reducing crowds, but it’s enough to keep the number of exits slightly below that dangerous level.”

Oswalt said that if there continue to be incidents while the fee is in place, then “we can discuss it again.”

Memphis Police Department Director Michael Rallings said the fee is a “reasonable response” to recent incidents occurring over Memorial Day weekend, and that his “obligation is to keep people safe.”

“If that helps keep people safe, then I think we should support that,” Rallings said. “We know there is no 100-percent solution that works anywhere, but if we see something that works, we should do it. … But I’m going to defer to the wisdom of the council to make a decision that helps to ensure the safety of our visitors, our officers, and business individuals.”

Rallings said Beale Street is an “open bar.” “If you run an open bar for 17,000 to 20,000 people, there are some issues you may run into. And I think the Beale Street security fee helps that.”

Councilwoman Patrice Robinson said she is “really struggling with paying a fee to participate on a city street in Memphis.

“But I do understand that we have a lot of people on the street and our police officers need additional support,” Robinson said, garnering applause from members of the audience.

Robinson said she believes the fee is not needed for safety, but as a way to raise money for additional security infrastructure on the street.

“If we don’t have $600,000 in our budget, I think this is a way to garner those dollars, but I would not go around saying that this is a way to keep down anything on Beale Street.”

Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen agreed, saying it’s a “big cop out” not to say the fee is needed to fund the tools required to keep Beale Street safe.

Swearengen also said when the fee has been in place, there were no checks and balances in place to keep the program consistent: “We haven’t heard of how the money will be collected, who’s going to house the money, how the money will be transferred to the Memphis City Council.”

Wrapping up the discussion, Council Chair Kemp Conrad, supporting the fee, said he trusts Rallings “implicitly, when it comes to public safety.”

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“If you haven’t been down there to see it and talk to the police officers and ask them what they need to do their jobs to keep themselves safe, to keep Memphians safe, and to keep visitors to Beale Street safe, then I’d say you haven’t done your due diligence to vote on this item and certainly not to vote ‘no’ on an emotional basis when people’s lives and safety are included.”

The council voted 8 to 4 vote in favor of the fee. Council members Conrad, Worth Morgan, Ford Canale, Sherman Greer, Frank Colvett Jr., Reid Hedgepeth, Cheyenne Johnson, and Gerrie Currie voted in favor. Council members Joe Brown, Robinson, Swearengen, and Jones voted against the measure.

The entrance fee is one of the 24 recommendations made by the crowd control consultant, Event Risk Management Solutions, last year. Council chair Conrad said all 24 of those recommendations have been implemented.

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City Council to Consider Keeping Beale Street Cover Through Summer

CREDIT: Beale Street Merchants Association


Beale Street Merchants Association

Beale Street

The Memphis City Council will consider later on Tuesday (today) extending the fee to enter Beale Street on certain nights through the end of the summer.

The council voted in May to instate a temporary $5 entrance fee slated to last through Memorial Day weekend.

The fee was put in place after a pair of shootings and stampedes took place one weekend earlier in May.

Jennifer Oswalt, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) said last month that since 2014, there have been 24 stampedes on a non-charging night and one on a night when there was a charge.

Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said then that the fee would help with crowd control and that during his time with the department, the only solution that’s worked consistently to reduce the number of incidents on the street is Beale Street Bucks.

However, police reported that during the time the most recent fee was in place over Memorial Day weekend, despite barricades, crowds rushed the gates and surged the street. Police say this led to disorderly conduct, altercations with officers, and minor injuries.

Rallings said the incidents would have been worse without the fee in place. 

MPD

Live footage of the Beale Street crowd on the Friday night before Memorial Day

Now, the council will vote on a resolution sponsored by Councilman Berlin Boyd, that will keep the fee in place on Friday and Saturday nights through the end of September.

“Beale Street is a tough place, and I don’t want to discriminate against anyone, but I think it’s reasonable control,” Rallings said of the fee. “I’m just trying to make it to October without some negative incident that jeopardizes what happens on Beale Street.”

The entrance fee is one of the 24 recommendations made by the crowd control consultant, Event Risk Management Solutions, last year. Council chair Kemp Conrad said 20 of the 24 recommendations are in place or in the process of being implemented.

Conrad said the $5 fees will go toward implementing security measures on the street, such as installing more SkyCops. Since the fee was reinstated in early May, about  $160,000 has been collected. Conrad said about $340,000 more is needed.

The council voted in 2017 to end the Beale Street Bucks program, which charged a $5 fee on Saturday nights during peak season. In 2018, the council voted to implement the fee on a needs basis.

Some of the criticism of the fee in the past has been that it discriminated against certain groups of people. But, Rallings said Tuesday that the data collected through scanning IDs between May 24th and 27th doesn’t support that.

He highlighted a graph showing that the majority of visitors were from 38127, which encompasses Frayser and other parts of North Memphis; 38126 composed of parts of Downtown and South Memphis; and 38109 near the Tennessee/Mississippi border. The data also shows that a significant portion of the visitors that weekend were from Chicago. 

MPD

Beale Street visitors by zip code

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City Council Wants State to Incentivize ‘Bluff City Law’ to Film in Memphis

CREDIT: NBC

NBC

The Memphis City Council will ask Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to set aside $10 million to incentivize NBC’s new legal drama to film in Memphis.

The pilot for “Bluff City Law,” a drama about a Memphis law firm fighting landmark civil rights cases, was filmed here and nearby in Oxford, Mississippi, in March.

Earlier this month, NBC picked up the show as a weekly series. Producers of the show have said previously that about $50 million will be spent on location during filming.

Councilman Martavious Jones said Tuesday that the only way the council can speak is through a resolution, so he proposed a resolution urging the governor to allocate $10 million of discretionary state funds to the production of “Bluff City Law.”

A city council committee recommended approval of the resolution Tuesday ahead of the full council voting on it. Jones said the Shelby County Commission has already passed a similar resolution.

Similarly, officials with the Memphis and Shelby County Film and Television Commission traveled to Nashville earlier this year, hoping to secure the same level of financial incentives that the ABC show “Nashville” received to film in its namesake city.

Close to $45 million was given through Tennessee Entertainment Commission grants and other incentives to keep the show in the state for six seasons.

 “Bluff City Law,” starring Jimmy Smits and Caitlin McGee, is set to air on NBC this fall. See the trailer below. 

City Council Wants State to Incentivize ‘Bluff City Law’ to Film in Memphis

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Strickland Adopts Memphis 3.0, Hopeful Council Will Follow Suit

CREDIT: Maya Smith

Maya Smith

Mayor Strickland signs an executive order adopting the Memphis 3.0 plan


After much delay and despite opposition, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland signed an executive order Tuesday adopting the Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive plan.

The Memphis City Council has delayed approving the plan for weeks, as opposition rose from one North Memphis neighborhood group.That group, led by Carnita Atwater, president of the New Chicago Community Development Corporation, filed a lawsuit last week, delaying the council’s vote again.

The lawsuit claims that the plan violates some residents’ constitutional rights and that it’s not inclusive. Strickland said Tuesday that he does not know if the city has submitted a response to the lawsuit.


Despite the pending litigation, Strickland moved forward with adopting the plan Tuesday morning, signing the executive order at The Works Community Development Corp. headquarters in South Memphis. He said that the adoption of Memphis 3.0 is “way past due,” as the city has not had a comprehensive plan in nearly 40 years.

“Memphis 3.0 will provide a much-needed road map for our growth,” Strickland said. “As we have seen for far too long, growth without a plan creates urban sprawl, a lack of cohesive land use, and puts tremendous strain on limited infrastructure. With this plan, we will move forward with a collective voice on how we want our city to look years into the future.”

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Strickland said Tuesday’s move “cements that Memphis 3.0 will be used in every agency and every division of government” except land use. The Memphis City Council must approve the plan in order for it to impact land use.

“This order doesn’t override the council’s authority,” Strickland said. “This order only applies to the administration side. The council still controls land use and we ask them to approve it.”

The mayor said he anticipates the city council approving the plan.

“The economic renaissance that we see in Memphis in many neighborhoods is not being felt in every neighborhood,” Strickland said. “This plan is a roadmap for growth and investment in all neighborhoods throughout the city and that’s why it needs to be celebrated.

Roshun Austin, executive director of The Works, contributed to the plan and supports its adoption. She sat next to the mayor as he signed the order.

“We have not had a comprehensive plan since 1981,” Austin said. “What that speaks to is a continuation of four decades of urban sprawl and white flight. I understand the experiences of many people that are opposed to the adoption of the plan.

Maya Smith

Carnita Atwater protests the Memphis 3.0 plan

“There’s truth to that. There is federal policy and local policy that has devastated African-American communities … This is not that. The comprehensive plan helps to guide our future in Memphis and make real investments back into very distressed neighborhoods.”

Meanwhile, outside of the building Atwater and about five other protesters rallied against the plan, holding signs that read “Just say no to 3.0” and shouting “No justice, no peace.”

“No matter what he signed today, you still have a $10 billion lawsuit,” Atwater said. “The lawsuit isn’t going anywhere.”

When asked what he thought about the protesters outside, Strickland said he’s glad “they are exercising their right to protest.”

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Mayor Strickland to Implement 3.0 Plan by Executive Order

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland will implement his much-delayed Memphis 3.0 plan Tuesday morning by executive order, according to a statement from his office Monday evening.

Strickland began working on the plan soon after taking office. That work included gathering opinions and priorities about the city’s future from thousands from across the city at dozens of events. The plan is to serve as a long-range planning document for the city.

Implementing the plan ran into delays, however, as Memphis City Council members mulled the plan for weeks. The council delayed yet another vote on 3.0 last week after a new lawsuit was filed by a group that argues the plan does not do enough for African-American neighborhoods. (See our story links below for more details.)

In a news advisory issued Monday evening, Strickland announced he will implement the plan via executive order Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.

Here’s what Strickland’s office said about the move:  

“Over the course of two years, at hundreds of community meetings and events more than 15,000 Memphians let their voices be heard in the process of creating a long-range development plan for our city.

“After much thought and deliberation, Mayor Strickland will sign an executive order implementing Memphis 3.0.”

The signing event is planned for Tuesday, May 14th, 9 a.m.; The Works, Inc. (1471 Genesis Circle).

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Memphis 3.0 Includes Items Opponents Say It Lacks

CREDIT: Facebook- Carnita Atwater

Facebook- Carnita Atwater

Atwater speaks against the Memphis 3.0 plan at a rally Saturday

A lawsuit filed by members of the community caused the Memphis City Council on Tuesday to again delay voting on the Memphis 3.0 plan.

Carnita Atwater, president of the New Chicago Community Development Corporation, told the council that they were being “disrespectful to the African-American community because the 3.0 plan is “blatant racism.”

Atwater and about a half a dozen more attendees at Tuesday’s meeting spoke in opposition of the plan, saying that it was not inclusive.

In a Wednesday press release, Atwater, who is African American said that the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the “impoverished African-American communities that have endured decades of disinvestment.”

“The Memphis 3.0 Comprehensive Plan fails to include any relevant or substantive financial investment in beleaguered African American Communities,” Atwater said. “The benefits of the plan are not inclusive, nor does it address racial equity in a city experiencing selective disinvestment, targeted gentrification, and low-income displacement.”

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The lawsuit was filed in federal court Tuesday against the council, the Shelby County Commission, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, and Gov. Bill Lee. The move is meant to stop the city council from voting on the plan.

Atwater’s key argument is that the Memphis 3.0 does not include plans for the New Chicago neighborhood and other African-American communities in the city.

However, the 465-page document does detail improvements for New Chicago, the surrounding North Memphis neighborhood, and other predominantly African-American areas in the city.

Within New Chicago itself, the plan outlines two anchors to be nurtured. The document says nurturing means providing stability to areas not experiencing growth.

Atwater has said that the plan does not give funding to the most “dis-invested in neighborhood in the city.”

But, based on the 3.0 document, anchors to be nurtured will see investments by the city and philanthropies to support improvements.

The first anchor is the intersection of Chelsea and Ayers, where the document suggests creating a garden district with the vacant land there and conducting an urban farming feasibility study.

At the intersection of Breedlove and Firestone, just a half a mile away from the New Chicago CDC headquarters, the plan lists 11 action items.

Some of them include improving the aesthetics of the area, supporting small businesses and community-based organizations and initiatives, identifying funding sources for facade improvements, and conducting an environmental assessment.

Near New Chicago, the crossing of Watkins and Brown is another anchor where the plan looks to support affordable housing, create adaptive reuses for abandoned buildings, and identify alternate uses for vacant land such as urban agriculture and parks.

The other anchors in North Memphis include Jackson and Watkins, Chelsea and Hollywood, Jackson and Hastings, and the Douglass Park Area.

Finally, for the entire North Memphis district, the plan indicates a slew of issues that need to be addressed, such as the need for a full-service grocery store or other ways to access fresh foods, improved sidewalks, additional bike lanes, and other infrastructure improvements.

In South Memphis, another area of the city largely populated with African Americans, the plan lists six anchors to be nurtured and two to be accelerated, or boost existing changes in the community.

Those anchors include Mississippi and Walker, Third and Belz, Elvis Presley and Alcy, and Soulsville.

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Actions for this district touch on affordable housing, neighborhood beautification, as well as improved public parks, sidewalks, and accessibility. Like North Memphis, accessible fresh foods is also a priority in the plan.

Read the priorities for each district here beginning on page 243. 

Atwater also expressed concern Tuesday about how the plan will gentrify African-American communities, while displacing communities of color and “forcing them out of the city of Memphis.”

Beverly Clay, who is African American, is another opponent of the plan. She said Tuesday that the 3.0 plan has “obvious omissions of our areas” and that it is “inexcusable.”

Supporting the plan Tuesday, Roshun Austin, president of The Works CDC in South Memphis, said the plan is a “map and a guide, because it provides us with what’s here today and suggestions for a brighter future. “

“It does not dictate the route we will take to get to our destination,” Austin said. “It does not detail all of the opportunities or encumbrances.”

Gary Rosenfeld, president and CEO of the Memphis Area Transit Authority, also spoke in support of the plan Tuesday, saying that the plan has “already demonstrated its ability to have a positive effect on our community.”

Ultimately, the council decided to delay the first of the three votes on the plan for two weeks to allow the council attorney Allan Wade and city of Memphis attorney Bruce McMullen to review the lawsuit.


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Beale Street Cover Charge Returns

Beale Street


After two shootings and two stampedes on or near Beale Street took place over the weekend, the Memphis City Council narrowly voted Tuesday to implement a temporary fee to enter the street.


The resolution to instate a $5 entrance fee was sponsored by Councilman Berlin Boyd and council Chair Kemp Conrad. The measure was approved with a 7-5 vote after a lengthy debate.

Boyd said the council members all needs to work together to figure out “how to police the crowd” and “mitigate possible litigation” that could result from incidents like the ones that occurred over the weekend.


“For the general public, I want you guys to know that this is temporary for the month of May,” Boyd said. “We will come back after the month of May because we need to help the MPD officers on Beale Street.”

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Boyd said at the end of May the council needs to re-evaluate and have a “robust” discussion to come up with a permanent solution that doesn’t entail a fee.

Memphis Police Department director Michael Rallings said early on Sunday morning there was a shooting at Fourth and Gayoso followed by a stampede caused by false reports of gunshots. Sunday night, there was a second shooting at Fourth and Beale that led to another stampede.

Rallings said that a common suggestion is adding additional officers to patrol Beale Street, but added that might not be the solution. He said one of the weekend shootings happened right in front of officers who could not prevent it from occurring.

“We have plenty of security there,” Rallings said. “But it’s an issue of crowd control, trying to manage less people, and making the environment more safe.”

Boyd said that during one of the incidents on Sunday, the hired Beale Street security walked away instead of de-escalating the situation.

“That’s the reality that we’re dealing with a dangerous situation,” Boyd said. “We don’t want those coming down to Beale Street to be in harm’s way. I just want everyone to know how severe it was to cause us to do this.”

Councilwoman Cheyenne Johnson questioned how a $5 charge would work to reduce stampedes and other incidents from occurring on the street.

Rallings said the fee will help with crowd control, and that during his time with the department, the only solution that’s worked consistently to reduce the number of incidents on the street is Beale Street Bucks.

Jennifer Oswalt, president of the Downtown Memphis Commission (DMC) added that since 2014, there have been 24 stampedes on a non-charging night and one on a night when there was a charge.

Beale Street Merchants Association

Beale Street

Councilwoman Jamita Swearengen also raised concerns about bringing the fee back, questioning the need for crowd control.

“We want a number of people to attend Beale Street,” Swearengen said. “We want individuals that come in for Beale Street Music Festival and other festivals to come on Beale Street…. You got to pay for parking, pay to get on Beale Street, pay for this, pay for that. That doesn’t make any sense.

“If police get out of their cars and stop eating and sleeping, we could control the crowd.”

Swearengen said she would not support the move and that the council was “shooting ourselves in the foot.”

Swearengen, along with council members Joe Brown, Patrice Robinson, Jones, and Johnson, voted against the fee. Council members Boyd, Conrad, Frank Colvett Jr., Worth Morgan, Reid Hedgepeth, Gerre Currie, and Ford Canale supported it.

The fee will be in place on the remaining Saturdays in May, as well as a handful of other days that officials expect large crowds. Conrad said 100 percent of the proceeds from the cover charge will go toward security on the street.

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An entrance fee is one of the 24 recommendations made by the crowd control consultant, Event Risk Management Solutions, last year. Conrad said 20 of the 24 recommendations are in place or in the process of being implemented.

The fee is one of the four that had not been implemented until Tuesday. The other recommendations not in place are asking the state to close the street as a public street, replacing the trash bins on Beale with clear liners, and forming a joint command post center where officers can monitor the area live and dispatch when necessary.

The council voted in 2017 to end the Beale Street Bucks program, which charged a $5 fee on Saturday nights during peak season. Then in 2018, the council voted to implement the fee on a needs basis.

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Beale Street Cover Charge Returns