GONZALES — A new city ordinance is being considered by the City Council about the consumption and possession of alcohol by minors.
“This is something that came up from the last youth council,” said Cindy Aguilar, youth council commissioner. “We noticed that it was something that kept coming up.”
Decreasing the use of alcohol and drugs by minors was one of three priorities the Youth Council came up with. The Youth Council worked with the city attorney and Public Works Director Harold Wolgamott on the drafting of the ordinance. The purpose behind the ordinance is to deter underage drinking.
“When you get youth wanting to deter underage drinking and be responsible for their generation, it’s kind of unique,” said Wolgamott.
The goal of putting the ordinance in place is concerning adults, parents and guardians who know that someone or multiple people underage are consuming alcohol to take corrective action. The second part of the ordinance categorizes underage drinking as a nuisance, which allows the City to take action. The third part of the ordinance focuses on recovering costs associated with responding to incidents of underage drinking.
“We see a lot of parents who think that if the children are in their house consuming alcohol that it’s better than them being outside,” said Fabiola Moreno, youth council commissioner. “This ordinance was to get the parents informed.”
As for the consequences of being caught in violation of the Social Host Ordinance, the guilty party or parties would have to take a course on the penalties of underage drinking. The course is online through the North American Learning Institute. Taking the course in lieu of paying the fines would only be available on the first infraction.
“Recently one of our cities in the valley experienced a couple of unfortunate incidents with young people that got into a bad situation from overconsumption of alcohol,” said Liz Silva, mayor pro-tem. “I don’t know if it opened anyone else’s eyes. It was a sad, sad story to hear, and that’s the last thing I want for the young people.”
