CC MINUTES 12231980 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-6- of the room. He said the Fun Center is intended to� be a spot for kids to congregate and believed it was better to have a well super- vised location than some of the other hangouts around the City such as Central Park or the mini park a couple of blocks away.. The "argument" behind his store on. December was the "annual confrontation of the Edison and St. Anthony High School students to prove who 's the toughest" .;according to Mr. Fey, and "they found out I was the toughest" . The same youths are back in the center playing the games together "until next year when they'll repeat the incident somewhere again" . Having a uniformed officer on duty in the center "gave the place a bad name and drew an unsavory group of youths from Central Avenue who figured there must be problems if a policeman was necessary, according to Mr. Fey, who said since the officer is gone the "place has settled down to the usual quiet lull" . The center owner said he is very conscientious about cleaning up trash which might have been generated by his customers even to the point where he cleans up behind the meat market across Kenzie Terrace. He believes he has kept his agreement to, run an orderly establish- ment, Mr. Fey insisted. Councilman Marks believed Mr. Fey might be the victim of the Public ' s preconceived ideas about fun centers. in. general and the undesirable activities they are alleged to invite. He guessed the bicycle incident could have happened at any other location in the City which drew agreement from Councilman Ranallo who said he' s had bicycles stolen right out of his own garage and didn't believe there had been any viable reason. for denying Mr. Fey 's license resulting from • the discussion. Mr. Craig responded by saying he perceived the Council had made up its mind about the license but nothing that had been said had changed his mind and said "only time will tell whether my concerns are justified" . He thought there might be too close an association between the center owner and the City police and .denied his family had refused to discuss the theft because of fear of reprisals, saying he had told the investigator he was willing to cooperate in the investigation of the theft. He contended the businessmen might be "afraid of the police" and said he "had been told he would be used if he pursued his allegations" . However, when pressed by the Mayor to identify the source of this statement, conceded the threat had not come from an official source. Mayor Haik thanked Mr. Craig for bringing this matter to the attention of the Council and assured him the matter will be thoroughly investigated to resolve his complaint. However, she reiterated that the City will need documented evidence before any legal action can be taken against the center-and said she believed none had been furnished to date. Councilman Ranallo told Mr . Craig the Council has never received any but complimentary reports from the businessmen about the City Police Department. Mr. Forne-ll said the Police Chief had gotten the impression the Craig family was afraid of reprisals and the Mayor told the Council she felt the City residents need to be more fully informed as to how their calls for police action are handled through a central communication center and not directly through the City offices.