Columbia Downtown CID says officials should not single out bar amid crime concerns
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Columbia’s Downtown Community Improvement District issued a statement Wednesday criticizing officials who have labeled a downtown bar a “public nuisance.”
The statement was issued in response to a letter from Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sent to Reign Bar between Walnut and Ninth Street, addressing the “nuisance conditions.”
Downtown CID Director Nickie Davis said in a statement that the District takes “public safety seriously,” but does not support placing the blame on one bar.
“The District does not support singling out or assigning responsibility to an individual business without clear evidence demonstrating that the business itself is responsible for the activity in question,” Davis said in the email.
Davis said Reign Bar has continued to be in communication with The District, law enforcement, and community members about the safety concerns for Ninth and Walnut Street.
Greg Wolff, a part-owner of the Reign Bar building for the past 10 years, said he has seen violence in downtown Columbia long before Reign Bar opened their doors.
“I could say with some factual data that, yeah, this did not just start with Reign Bar; this has been going on for- I’m just going to throw out a ballpark of at least three years,” said Wolff.
Wolff said he spoke with Reign Bar owners before he signed with them and emphasizes running their establishment in a safe manner to the community, and so far he has not seen them stray from that.
“We felt like ,this , the things they were saying they were going to do with their security and their business plan, we felt comfortable with, and we haven’t seen much deviation from what they told us they were going to do,” said Wolff. “We have not had anybody call it missing from the police departments, our community leaders saying, ‘ What the heck’s going on here? ‘We need to deal with this.'”
The safety concerns tend to happen outside of businesses in public spaces like the sidewalks or streets, according to Davis. And Davis wrote that business owners have limited authority to control the actions that happen outside of their businesses.
Downtown businesses are responsible for operating their businesses in a safe manner, according to Davis. And she wrote that individuals who participate in violent behavior downtown should be held accountable for their actions.
“Violence anywhere in Downtown Columbia is unacceptable,” wrote Davis. “At the same time, we must be careful not to confuse proximity for causation when determining responsibility.”
Wolff said he is grateful that state leaders are taking notice to the issues of Downtown Safety, but the blame is misdirected.
“I’ll be really excited to have a safer downtown where we don’t have this type of stuff happening at all. I just think the fingers being pointed in the wrong direction, as far as the root cause,” said Wolf.
The District will continue to support Reign Bar and continue to look at “verified information” that leads to contributions to the public safety concerns of downtown.
Davis invited Hanaway, Gov. Mike Kehoe, and other state leaders to come to downtown Columbia to meet with business owners, community members, and law enforcement to discuss public safety concerns.
A press release attributed to Councilwomen Valerie Carroll (Ward 1), Jacque Sample (Ward 3) and Sharon Jones (Ward 4) asks the AG’s office to meet with city officials.
“We believe this work should include sharing information on local investigations and resources. To that end, we are asking the Attorney General’s Office to meet with City leaders to coordinate efforts regarding public safety in the Walnut/9th Street area,” the joint press release says.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe posted a statement on social media saying she agreed with her colleagues in City Council and the District. She stated that she is concerned about the demands from Attorney General Hanaway regarding Reign Bar without notifying or collaborating with the City first.
University of Missouri President Mun Choi warned students at the start of the semester to stay away from the part of downtown where Reign is located, citing a street brawl that resulted in seven arrests and other incidents.
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