The San Marcos City Council voted Tuesday to ban alcohol in city parks, including the strand of public space alongside the San Marcos River.
Part of a larger package of new parks rules, the alcohol ban passed 6-1 with Councilman Jude Prather casting the sole vote against. He said he thinks the rule trespasses on residents’ personal freedom.
“I just can’t get behind saying you can’t have a beer by the river,” Prather said.
During more than an hour of discussion at their Tuesday meeting, council members Ryan Thomason and Kim Porterfield also voiced reservations but ended up voting for the law along with Mayor Daniel Guerrero and councilmen Shane Scott, John Thomaides and Wayne Becak.
“It’s a tool, essentially, to have the ability to ask someone to cease and desist” disruptive or dangerous behavior, said City Marshal Ken Bell who heads the river rangers force.
The ban is supported by the San Marcos River Foundation and the Lion’s Club, which operates a summertime tube rental business at City Park.
New rules also give the city’s parks director the authority to ban barbecue grills and Styrofoam cups. The ordinance must be approved on a second reading before it becomes law.
The city cannot ban alcohol possession and consumption on the river itself which belongs, under the Texas constitution, to the state, not the city.
New rules on tap
An ordinance approved on the first of two votes Tuesday night creates these changes to rules for San Marcos parks and natural areas:
• Makes the consumption or display of alcoholic beverages on park land prohibited. Provides for
access and egress to the river with a “no open container” rule;
• Includes refined definitions for the codes;
• Makes provisions of all park codes apply in Natural areas and Green Spaces owned by the
City;
• Includes disruptive conduct provisions for programs approved by the department operating on
city parks areas;
• Increases the minimum fine amount for littering in the San Marcos River;
• Prohibits smoking and tobacco products in play areas and athletic fields;
• Clears up miscellaneous provisions on posting of temporary restrictions;
• Authorizes the Park Director to establish rules for use of BBQ pits;
• Prohibits the use of Styrofoam materials in the parks and river;
• Adds the possession of certain fishing spears and gigs and allows parks programming
exemptions;
• Prohibits the possession of alcohol on any dam owned by the city;
• Requires the securing of lids and covers to containers in the San Marcos River
