OCR Text |
Show Number of video games to be limited at businesses By GARY R. BLODGETT BOUNTIFUL The Bountiful City Council last Wednesday night decided to "keep the lid on" a restricted number of video game machines allowed in each commercial establishment throughout the city. -By a 3-2 split vote, the council decided to veto a motion to increase the number of video games permitted by the city ordinance. ordi-nance. Councilwomen Phyllis Southwick and Barbara Holt and Councilman Harold Shafter voted against revision of the city ordinance. The current ordinance which has been in effect for seven years allows a maximum of four amusement devices per business. This ordinance will remain in force. However, there are three Bountiful businesses that have video games in excess of four because they were installed before the 1981 ordinance. City Planner Jon Reed Boothe said the Classic Roller Rink has 17 devices; Bugsey's has seven; and Fred Meyer has five. Classic Roller Rink must relinquish five of its machines which were installed after the 1981 ordinance, according to Mr. Boothe. "Bugsey's and Fred Meyer may continue to operate under their existing number of machines because they were permitted under a prior ordinance," said Mr. Boothe. The issue came to light a couple of weeks ago when James R. Etheridge, 1591 N. 700 W., West Bountiful, approached the council to request between 20 ad"25 video games in a former-amusement former-amusement establishment in the Colonial Square Shopping Center. He told the council that he would like a permit to install "between 20 and 25 video game machines" in an establishment to be known as "The Arcade." He said the business would be under adult supervision at all times and would be open only after school (3 p.m.) until 9 p.m. "The business would also offer a food and soft drink counter and would deal in baseball cards. It would be a place of business for adults and teenagers and would not be a hangout for other purposes," Mr. Etheridge told the council. Mayor Dean S. Stahle emphasized that to change the ordi-. ordi-. nance and increase the maximum number of machines per business busi-ness would open up the city to allow the higher maximum number of machines in any store, not only the one petitioning the council tonight. Making the motion to amend the ordinance, Councilman Keith Barton said he believes the interest in commercial videos has diminished greatly and that an arcade today would not create the problems that arcades provided in the late 70s. "Teenagers are not as interested in playing the games as much as they were several years ago when they used to line up for their turn to play," said Councilman Barton. "And I don't believe adults will get in their cars and drive to Colonial Square to play a few games. Based on my information, I would be in favor of amending the ordinance." In other city council action, the council agreed to seek bids for a new 4-wheel drive pumper truck for the Bountiful City Fire Department. The 1 ,750-gallons-per-minute pumper would be used in Fire Station No. 2 to serve hillside residents as well as fires in the downtown area and elsewhere. Fire Chief Jerry Lemon said it is essential that the new trucks have good brakes, a large engine and four-wheel drive for use on the city's steep hillsides. He told the council that such an engine would cost about $180,000 but that some of this money was budgeted last year and not spent. He said it could be ordered soon and probably would not be shipped, and payment due, until next fiscal year. "The existing pumper being used is 27 years old and in bad shape, always needing new parts and could use a new engine," he said. "It would take a lot of money to bring it up to standard." stan-dard." The council also reviewed four traffic requests, but approved only one. . , Approval was given Jo install yellow flasher lights to alert motorists of the 20-miles-per-hour zone in the area of South Davis Junior High School. Lights will be installed both east and west of the school on 2600 South. Denied were requests for a 35 mph speed zone on 200 West from 400 North to 1600 North; a request for a stop or yield sign at 1050 S. and 200 West; and a request for a stop sign at 1875 South and 800 East. |