Park Board Recommends Booze Bans at Two Parks

Rochester, MN  (KROC AM News) -  The Rochester Park Board Tuesday approved a recommendation to restrict alcohol at Kutzky and Slatterly parks.

The proposed ordinance will be taken up by the City Council at a future meeting.

The use of alcohol at the two parks would be allowed under a city permit.  The board was told there have been increasing alcohol-related problems at Kutzky, including a spike this year. Police recommended the ban at Slatterly because it’s feared those causing problems at Kutzky will begin hanging out at the southeast park, even though it’s a few miles away because liquor stores are close by and it also has a pavilion.

Police aren’t sure if the Kutzky ban will cause problems at Cooke Park, which is much closer than Slatterly.

Also at the meeting, the board heard from the Leadership Greater Rochester group and its plans to help the Park Department convert the former Silver Lake fire station into a community center with a focus on recreational and other purposes.

A spokesman for a Twin Cities-based bike share program also briefed the board on plans to begin an operation in Rochester next year. The spokesman told the board the fire station would be an ideal site for some of its programs, along with its planned downtown base in the Peace Plaza area.