Heather Regan White / The American Press

SULPHUR — Sulphur Police Chief Lewis Coats told the City Council here, Monday, that lately, the department has been responding to a large volume of false alarms at businesses and residences. He asked the Council to consider an amendment being introduced to address the problem.

Coats said the reintroduction of part of an ordinance removed by a prior council,would help dissuade home and business owners from ignoring problems with their alarms.

“One incident I can tell you about is a business, that, within a 90-day period, every day they were open, we had an alarm call between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.,” he said. In that particular case, the keypad was located too far from the entry point of the building. Coats said false alarms put officers at risk when responding to those locations, because they may expect another false alarm, when instead, it’s “something big.” He likened it to “crying wolf.”

“The property owners are not worried about it,” he said. “They think, ‘it’s just the police, they’ll come back next time’. But that’s not the right attitude to have,” he said.

Coats said several years ago, the Council did away with criminal ordinances in the city’s code book and referred everything to Title 14 of the state’s criminal code. That cost the city the legal authority to fine repeat offenders for false alarms. According to Coats, the proposed amendment reintroduces the exact ordinance that was removed and gives the city “teeth to be able to force property owners to fix their problems.”

There would be no charge for the first three false alarms over an as yet unspecified period of time. A $25 charge would be assessed for the fourth, fifth and sixth occurrence. A $50 fine would be charged for occurrences six through 24 and a $200 fine for each occurrence after that. Churches and schools would be exempt. 

The proposed amendment will be voted on at the Sept. 11 council meeting.

In other news, the council approved hiring local attorney Billy E. Loftin as an assistant city attorney.

Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Page said she welcomes Loftin and his knowledge of real estate law, given the rapid expansion in Sulphur. Mayor Chris Duncan said money was earmarked in the recent budget for additional legal assistance.

In public hearings, the Council:

l Accepted a preliminary plat for phase three of Belle Savanne Reserve on La. Hwy. 27.

l Accepted the final plat from West Hale South, LLC, for development at 2033 Ruth St.

l Voted to condemn a building at 881 A. Boice St.

l Amended the noise ordinance to include every business or dwelling in the city. “This will protect everyone in the wee hours of the night,” said Duncan.