The doobie and the damage done: Mumpower to attend Widespread Panic

He’s baaaaaack.

“He” would be Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower. And the anti-drug crusader, fresh from a recent performance of the Grateful Dead spin-off band, RatDog, has announced he will buy a ticket and grace the confines of the Asheville Civic Center once again for the upcoming Widespread Panic show on Friday, April 13. “That will afford a more comprehensive effort to observe drug enforcement efforts at the facility during this concert,” Mumpower explained in a recent e-mail.

And while you’re free to noodle dance to your hippie heart’s content, be discreet with your stash (or maybe just leave it at home).

Snarkiness aside, Mumpower is sincere in his efforts to rid the city of the scourge of drugs (a campaign many Asheville residents have indicated they are grateful for), though many were quite nonplussed that the dapper city official showed up at the recent show to observe and drop dime on concertgoers imbibing illicit substances such as marijuana and LSD — for which several arrests were made by city police. Lest anyone forget, however, Mumpower did confess he enjoyed the band.

To get a better sense of what concertgoers can expect and a taste of the behind-the-scenes prelude, we include yet another chain of e-mail messages, supplied to the local media by Mumpower himself and arranged in the order they were received. The first message offers details on a “Civic Center Concert Action Plan” presented at Mumpower’s request to City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

— Hal L. Millard, staff writer

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From: Carl Mumpower
To: local media
Date: April 2

Note – Item 6 will be moved to first on the agenda. Council members will be clarifying policy on drug use at the Civic Center and discussing with staff our operational policies for upcoming events. The “Wide Spread Panic” event coming up soon is of special interest.

Asheville City Council
Public Safety Committee
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Tuesday ~ April 3, 2007
Municipal Building ~ 4th Floor Training Room

“Operationally Aware – Policy Focused”
1)    ___ Approval of the March Committee Minutes
2)    ___ 911 PSAP Joint Communications Center Discussion – Group
3)    ___ Public Safety Vehicle Replacement Analysis
4)    ___ DSU Scheduling/Coverage Patterns – William Hogan
5)    ___ Update on Computer Forensic Detective – William Hogan
6)    ___ Civic Center Event Management Issues
7)    ___ Public Comment

Mr. [Mike] Hopping,

The Civic Center Concert Action Plan appears to be just what it’s title represents—a responsive beginning grounded in the reality that change is a process more often than an event.

How drug use at the Civic Center is addressed is not really my issue – that is in the hands of City Manager, Police Chief, Civic Center Manager, staff, and, most importantly, those who attend the concerts. My concern is with why the rules of the house and laws of the city have been ignored and what needs to be done to make sure such is not the case going forward.

Carl Mumpower

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In a message dated 4/5/2007 3:39:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
mike.hopping@worldnet.att.net writes:

Dr. Mumpower,
Thanks for attending to this. The question again was, does this new plan, if implemented as stated, adequately address the concerns you raised in the concert drug use email to Mr. Jackson?

Here’s what I received:

Civic Center Concert Action Plan
Objective: The purpose of this action plan is to implement a “best practices” strategy to promote a secure, orderly and drug free environment inside and outside the Asheville Civic Center during large events. The Action Plan is a collaborative effort of the city management team incorporating enhancements from the collective creativity of the Civic Center, the Asheville Police Department, and the sanitation, parking services and traffic engineering divisions  

INTERNAL SECURITY
Area
Action Items for Improvement
Bags & Backpacks
Prohibit bags and backpacks at all large concerts.
Post signage in parking decks and outside Civic Center communicating ban on bags.
Include notice on tickets and marquis.
Check all small purses upon entrance. 

Ushers
Train ushers on standards for performance related to warning and removing patrons who smoke in the center:
– Issue one warning if you suspect someone is smoking.
– On second offense, call event staff to escort patron out of the facility.

T-Shirt Security
Clarify role of t-shirt security for warning and removing patrons who smoke in the center: 
– Issue one warning if you suspect someone is smoking.
– On second offense, call event staff to escort patron out of the facility.
Work with promoter to assess security needs and hire additional support when necessary. 

Uniformed Security
Increase the number of off-duty police officers working inside the facility; require off-duty personnel to wear uniform; maintain presence in arena for assistance with removing patrons when necessary. 

ALE Officers
Coordinate with ALE officers to provide supplemental alcohol and drug enforcement during large concerts. 

Event Supervision Staffing
Increase event supervision staffing to assist with patron removals and other security issues. 

Outreach/Public Relations
Implement public relations campaign to emphasize the facility’s to a smoke-free, drug-free environment.
– Utilize such tools as the front marquis, ticket stubs, press releases, etc. 

EXTERNAL SUPPORT SERVICES
Law Enforcement & Security
APD to work undercover detail to catch persons selling illegal drugs and a uniformed detail for general security, traffic control, and for policing the parking garages and surrounding areas; enhanced communications across departments will improve this effort. 

Sanitation
Coordinate with Civic Center staff and provide staff and equipment as necessary for trash collection, area cleanup and street sweeping. 

Parking
Work with APD to ensure coordination of parking deck access with drug suppression strategies.
Prohibit tailgating and informal “markets” in Handi-park; limit size of vehicles allowed to park in Handi-Park; place signage prohibiting tailgating, vending and cooking in all parking facilities. 

Traffic Engineering
For sold out events, manually operate and/or place traffic signals in the immediate area into flashing operation (work closely with APD and Civic Center staff to coordinate this traffic management plan). 

Cross-Department Communications
Establish a Civic Center Concert Team with cross-department participation to enhance communications and pre-planning for large events.

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Mr. [Gary] Jackson, [City Manager]

If memory serves from prior policy discussion, Civic Center Commission members and Council Members have open access to observe civic center operations on request through the center director. I’m sure that Mr. Pisha and the former chair of the commission can verify such.

Nonetheless, to avoid further discomfort or conflict around my request, please allow let me withdraw it. Council may deliberate this issue at their leisure.

I will purchase at ticket for Widespread Panic and make an effort to attend the event in its entirety next Friday evening. That will afford a more comprehensive effort to observe drug enforcement efforts at the facility during this concert.

Thank you,

Carl Mumpower
Asheville City Council
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In a message dated 4/5/2007 6:44:43 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
GJackson@ashevillenc.gov writes:

Mayor Bellamy and City Council:
The purpose of this message is to respond to the following Council request to gain access to the Civic Center on April 13.

If you as a board want to discuss policy for enabling Council observation of service delivery, I would really appreciate any guidelines you would be willing to adopt.  Until that time, I will continue to exercise my best judgment on a case by case basis. Basically, my approach will be to consider each request based on the ability of our staff to introduce Council members to their area of interest without negatively impacting service delivery or compromising charter defined roles. This means some requests (drug interdiction) may be denied and others (patrol and civic center observation) may be granted under certain conditions. With regard to Civic Center events, there is already an accepted practice of allowing Council appointed commissioners to make 15 minute observations of events. So we plan on applying this standard, unless otherwise directed by Council, and thereby allow Dr. Mumpower and any other members to briefly observe the concert on April 13.  Any Council member planning on observing the Widespread Panic concert should contact David Pisha directly at 259-5744 to confirm your participation in the escorted tour of the facility. David will confirm the arrangements with those who rsvp to him, but the plan is to meet in the admin offices at 8:30 and begin the tour at promptly 8:45 p.m.

Gary

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From: DrMumpower@aol.com [mailto:DrMumpower@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 12:09 PM
To: Gary Jackson
Cc: William Hogan; David Pisha
Subject: Widespread Panic

Gary,
The group Widespread Panic is coming to Civic Center next Friday (April 13th).  Per continuing concerns with drug activity during some concert events, I would appreciate the option of observing for a brief period that evening.
Thank you,
Carl Mumpower