Case Study-public situation

Problem situation You are the director of a public parks and recreation park district in an eastern city of 100,000. Two groups have approached the park district board about changing your liquor laws on the park grounds. One group wants alcohol allowed for “special occasions” such as weddings and reunions. The other group wants to allow alcohol at all times, especially for tailgate parties before softball games. The current policy forbids alcohol within the park premises. One board member proposes that liquor can be served provided that the group obtains a $50 permit from the park for the evening. “This will make sure they are serious about wanting to have alcohol there. We shouldn’t make it easy, but we should make it possible.” Another board member disagrees, “we’ve really had to clamp down on people tailgating before or after softball games. To be fair, we can’t allow anybody to drink, regardless of the occasion. A third board member suggests a compromise. “If they want to have a private party to celebrate a wedding or family reunion, for example, we should let them. That’s a whole lot different than people tailgating before and after a game.” Discussion questions Should drinking alcohol be allowed in the public parks? Why or why not? Is there a difference between drinking as a wedding and tailgating. Explain the difference. How would you enforce your drinking policy? Is a permit system justified? If so, how should the money that is collected be spent? Create a drinking policy for the park?