SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
The Savannah City Council took up several issues at their meeting Thursday, one of which being preparations for this year's St. Patrick's Day festivities.
Normally, the Council votes to officially recognize the festival period as Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, however this year they voted to only recognize the festival period as Friday and Saturday. Acting Assistant City Manager Marty Johnson said it's because last year, when St. Patrick's Day was celebrated all three days, the expenses totaled more than $558,000. By shortening the time frame the city is able to save more money.
Council members also voted not to use gates of wristbands during this year's celebrations. Johnson said, "One of the reasons we all agreed to drop the gating is because it is a very expensive proposition and a lot of what was sold in wristbands went to securing, gating, and that type of thing."
Another issue before the Savannah City Council was drinking alcohol while peddling a bicycle. This issue stems from the quadricycles seen traveling through historic downtown Savannah. The 15 people onboard are responsible for providing the energy for the bicycle to move, however a company employee is the only person steering the device.
After a brief discussion, the City Council decided to table the issue until they are able to learn more about the quadricycles. It was suggested all of the aldermen take a field trip to Savannah Slow Ride and hop on one to the bikes to see how they really work. Savannah Slow Ride Owner Samantha Meier said, "This is going to give City Council and my business more time to work through the education of the City Council to ensure that our business is transparent to them and they know the workings and we're here to work with them."
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