MELBOURNE, Fla. — A new strategy is in place to make downtown Melbourne safer.
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The mayor and city leaders voted to come up with a draft for an after-hours alcohol permit similar to the one Orange County just put in place last week.
It comes after a shooting over the weekend sent three people to the hospital.
Tuesday’s conversation seemed to focus on business owners, and holding them accountable for not doing what they’re supposed to do, such and manage crowds and keep the area safe.
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It’s time we level the playing field for businesses and hold those businesses accountable,” Mayor Alfrey said.
One of the solutions suggested to make the area safter was a city-wide alcohol permit for bars and restaurants who want to keep serving alcohol past 11 p.m.
Some business owners said they shouldn’t all be punished for Saturday’s incident.
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Romeo Mikhail, owner of Fiesta Bar and Grill, said he’s not against more rules to keep everyone safe downtown, but he’s not against more rules to keep everyone safe downtown.
But he’s not on board yet either.
“We don’t even know what they want yet; I’m intrigued to see what they want,” Mikhail said. “I want to see what these policies are.”
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The mayor said he spent more than an hour Monday with his staff, going over security measures, just put in place for downtown Orlando.
He feels the permit would be the first step.
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