Council repeals outdated vice laws against pool, pinball
Teenagers who enjoy playing some pool or pinball can breath a sigh of relief after the City of Laurens repealed some outdated laws last week.
During its regular September meeting last Tuesday, Laurens City Council voted unanimously to repeal Chap. 8 of the Code or Ordinances: Regulation of Amusements and Entertainment within the city, which specified it was illegal for all minors to play pinball.
Photo by Judith Brown
The discussion came about because in looking through the city’s codes, Mayor Nathan Senn came across several which needed updating.
“It’s never good to have a situation where we have laws on the books that are unenforceable or outdated and not fully enforced,” Senn said. “What I hope we will do tonight is sort of clean up some old ordinances.”
The illegal pinball activity was a surprise, he added.
“When I was reading through our code of ordinances and I saw that, the question I had for myself was, at what point did city council sit down and say, ‘The problem that must be stopped in this city is youth playing pinball,’” Senn said, laughing.
According to the Amusements codes it was illegal for pool to be played in the same business where alcohol was sold, and it was also illegal for minors to play pool.
“But if a minor brought a note from his parents that they gave permission for him to play pool, then they could play, but the youth’s name had to be documented into a logbook,” Senn said.
Another outdated law dealt with regulations of “Bus, Hackney and Taxicab Stands within the City of Laurens.”
The final law included a ban of alcohol sales on Sunday, and since the county as a whole allows alcohol sales on Sunday, Senn said the law needed to be removed from the books.
Council approved repealing all of the outdated laws, including another regulation regarding “Vehicles for Hire.”
In other business, council approved 6-1 to approve the establishment of a Municipal Redevelopment Commission, with council member Alicia Sullivan voting against it.
Sullivan voiced concern over which residents were to be named to the group.
“There is no commission until we approve the formation of a commission, so we won’t have any names put forward at this time,” Senn said.
Council approved the annexation of a narrow piece of property along Highway 221 and Hunter Industrial Park Road.
It also approved a resolution allowing the city to apply for a $50,000 Municipal Association of S.C. grant which requires a 10 percent match.
