City council meeting addresses increase in police officers for Saint Patrick’s Day

There will be an increase in officers from the University Police Department throughout the weekend due to Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, according to Assistant Government Relations Mark Brainard.

At the city council meeting Monday night, Brainard said police officers will partner up with Newark Police on foot to check Main Street and other areas throughout the city and the university campus. The University Police Department said they do not expect any major issues throughout the week prior to the holiday and during Saint Patrick’s weekend, however.

“It’s a holiday,” Brainard said. “It’s a holiday that students enjoy celebrating  and have enjoyed celebrating for years and years, so there will be an increased number of students out and about starting early in the morning and going until late hours in the evening.”

Junior Nicole Seymour, a government affairs officer at the university, said several RSOs are represented through SGA and this created a link between the local and state government and the university students. She said one of most students main concerns is for their safety and environmental sustainability movements,  such as Green The Green, Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaigns and smoke-free campus.

“The campus is going smoke free, and it should be in at least a year or two,” Seymour said. “It’s going to include the Green, it’s going to include the residential areas and we are also offering health programs for people who want to try to quit.”

Junior Megan Mauger said since the students initially got rashes due to pesticides, she and other students started  the “Green The Green” movement. The students created and signed a petition, which advocated for the university to implement warning signs chemicals are sprayed on the green and pushing for a switch to organic lawn care.

Mauger said the chemicals sprayed on the green also created a problem with the community’s water because of the run-off into water sheds.

“I think it’s a continuing battle,” Mauger said. “I think President Harker is more mostly concerned with the business aspect of it, so I think our next step is going to be more concrete evidence on how it can be cost efficient for the university and not as much about students’ health.”

City Manager Carol Houck also said several police vehicles will have to be replaced. The overall purchase of these new vehicles will cost $161,671. The previous vehicles will be sold at online auctions.

Houck also announced a sewer agreement between the city and the university. The university’s new buildings along Academy Avenue will require improvements to the sanitary sewers along Kells Avenue. City and university officials agreed the university officials will pay for the sewage requirements they desire, while city officials will pay for any requirements they need to add. After this, the two parties will look at the costs and split them.