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Show . When Can A Community Say Stop T Business? By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL Where do city officials draw the line when it concerns new businesses coming into the city? Can city officials allow one business license while refusing another for the same type or related re-lated business? THIS IS THE dilemma facing Bountiful city officials with the rampant onslaught of amusement centers. These so-called "family-oriented" showplaces are springing spring-ing up all over the city and they are creating more problems than the city would care to have. At least more problems than Police Chief Larry Higgins and his 28-man police force care to have added to their daily affairs. "YES, I'M concerned about the increased in-creased number of amusement machines and amusement centers that have come into the city in recent months," said Chief Higgins, noting that he is planning a meeting meet-ing soon with other city officials to discuss the possibility of changing the city ordinance ordi-nance to allow better control of the licensing licens-ing of these establishments. "We are getting too many amusement centers in the city and most of these centers have 30 to 40 machines which makes it difficult to maintain proper control. Something Some-thing has got to be done to slow down the influx of these centers and the number of machines allowed in each establishment," he said. THE CHIEF also emphasized a concern for the increasing number of burglaries that involve theft from coin-operated machines. "I believe there is a definite tie-in with the increased thefts and the recent influx of amusement centers and additional machines," the chief concluded. Amusement centers of this type are an "enticement" to our youth a temptation for young persons to "gather just to spend the day and whatever money they have in their pockets." AMUSEMENT CENTER operators argue that money is not wasted on the machines, that no one "loses" a great deal of money while playing the machines. Personally, Per-sonally, I don't believe this. I have talked to teenagers who themselves them-selves are, or they know someone who is, "hooked" on playing the pinball and other amusement machines and they are spending a lot more money than they can really afford. CENTERVILLE CITY officials, for ex-, ex-, ample, have turned thumbs down to at least two recent proposals for amusement centers cen-ters in their city and for exactly the same reasons I have stated above. They are skeptical, and they should be, that amusement amuse-ment centers can not always will cause more problems than they are worth (tax-wise). Now this is not to say that all amusement centers are a bad influence on the city. Most of Bountiful's new centers have been clean of serious problems. So why the alarm? MUCH OF the concern has to do with changes in the city ordinance. It used to be (until this year) that Bountiful prohibited more than two amusement devices in a single establishment and to play a pinball machine the operator had to be at least 21 years of age. The license fee for each machine was previously set at $25. But earlier this year the council by a 4-0 vote (with Council-woman Council-woman Phyllis Southwick abstaining) voted to lower the business license fee to $5 per machine per year. THIS CAME as a result of complaints . from prospective amusement center operators oper-ators that the $25 fee "was too high." True, it was higher than some (but not all) surrounding sur-rounding communities. I think it should have been raised, not lowered. I shuddered at each city council meeting when the. council members would vote to allow still another amusement center into the city on the basis that "what can we do to stop this one after we have allowed that one to establish in the city?" ALL AMUSEMENT center operators to date have pledged to "maintain a family atmosphere" at their establishments. Maybe they will. But I, like many others including Centerville's city council have deep reservations. Is it too late for Bountiful to close the barn door? I hope not. Bountiful recently went through a lot of unnecessary bad publicity over the absence abs-ence of Councilman Stephen M. Studdert from his weekly council meetings. His attendance record was only about 60 percent per-cent for the first 11 months in office. IT'S PAST history that Steve was absent because of an assignment he had as a press-relations press-relations advisor for President-elect Ronald Reagan. This assignment kept him away from home much more than he thought it would. But the only bad judgement I see on the part of Steve is that he did not take a leave of absence from his council post when it became evident that he would be absent a great deal in the latter weeks of the election campaign. The councilman missed every meeting from July 31 until his resignation two weeks ago. BUT I DON'T fault Steve for joining the presidential nominee's camp. It was a great opportunity and it was something he was familiar with having served in a similar capacity with President Gerald Ford. Since Steve's resignation, there have been rumors and reports that Councilman Robert Linnell, too, has missed a lot of council meetings primarily because of his profession and his positions as president presi-dent of Bailey Moving and Storage and member of the executive council of the nationwide firm. Q c IT'S THE LATTER that has taken Bob out of town (usually to Chicago) for committee com-mittee meetings that sometimes fall on Wednesday. Some will say that if he can't do the job and attend the council meetings he should resign. I don't agree. FIRST, BOB has not missed an excessive number of meetings, although his total number of absences is higher than any other (except Studdert's) member of the council. But what a lot of folks don't realize is that there is a lot more to serving on the council than attending weekly meetings. 1 have witnessed wit-nessed in past years as a news reporter several council members who contributed to the council and the city much less than today's council members who may miss an occasional meeting. AND COUNCIL meetings as such, are only a small part of a council members duties and responsibilities. There are various va-rious committees that each council member mem-ber and mayor are assigned. Each mus chair at least one committee and is assigne to at least two more. These committee meetings are almost always al-ways held at 7 a.m. so as not to conflict too much with personal jobs. Then there are special meetings for all council members -held both early morning and late nignt - and twice monthly Redevelopment Agency meetings for all to attend. LIKE BOB Linnell says. "You add the meetings, of which 1 miss very few, to in regular council meetings and I have a pre darn good attendance record.' , And if someone wants to get their ie wet and find out just what a council nw ber doesthere's a job opening right And the pay is a hefty $150 a montn. BUT DON'T forget, there's more than just weekly council meetings that you be expected to attend. |