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NEWPORT — The Newport City Council voted unanimously Monday, Aug. 18 to set a curfew for juveniles under 18 years old.
Between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., juveniles may not remain in public places such as streets, parks, docks and buildings without permission from owners or the Newport Police Department. The curfew takes effect Sept. 1.
The city will hold parents and guardians responsible for violations of the curfew, which will be considered civil infractions. Penalties for civil infractions are a warning or $50 fine on a first violation, a $100 fine on a second violation within a one-year period and fines of $250 on third or subsequent violations also within a one-year period.
“This is a tool for law enforcement,” city administrator Abby Gribi said at the council’s Monday meeting, Aug. 18. “And as you all recall, we had a couple of weekends, one in particular, that there was significant damage done to multiple residents’ property by some juveniles.”
Wade Nelson, Newport Police Department chief, suggested the city implement the curfew after four juveniles allegedly vandalized at least three buildings and nine cars over one weekend night in July. Three of those four juveniles — two 15-yearolds and one 17-year-old — have been charged with first-degree malicious mischief, a felony. One suspect is still at large.
Damages to the buildings and vehicles are estimated to total at least $21,000.
“This is a direct result of that,” Mayor Keith Campbell said at the meeting. “And the subsequent weekends of seeing them on camera still roaming.”
The curfew was reviewed by the city’s attorney and Nelson’s department before the council voted on Monday.
Exemptions to the curfew include youths accompanied by a parent or guardian, those acting from “necessity, self-defense or emergency,” those exercising their First Amendment rights and those returning home within 30 minutes after the end of events, errands, employment or activities for school or a religious, charitable or educational organization.
“As always with laws, it is officer discretion,” Gribi said. “This isn’t 11:01 p.m., or athletes running in kind of public places. This is groups that are going around town, 2, 3 in the morning, [being] nefari- ous.”
Council member Jami Sears raised concerns about penalizing parents and guardians for violations of the curfew. She said certain guardians may be incentivized to turn away wards for whom they cannot — or will not — pay the fines, resulting in more children either homeless or in the state’s custody. Sears asked about city programs where juveniles could instead work to pay off the fines themselves, but Gribi said that was under the court’s jurisdiction, not law enforcement’s.
“The kids, there should be a consequence to their actions,” Sears said at the meeting. “But then, we’re seeing some unfortunate situations that can occur there, … where then we have homeless kids or we have a different situation. There needs to be something.”
Council member Nathan Longly argued that juveniles should also be penalized for violating the curfew, adding that some may do so against their parents’ or guardians’ wishes. Gribi responded that holding juveniles responsible for violating any law has become “challenging” in the state of Washington.
In the end, the council agreed to trust the discretion of Newport Police Department officers.
“There are definitely those situations where we can link parents with resources that are available and help facilitate that as much as we can,” Gribi said. “But I don’t know that there’s a whole win-win situation.”
Earlier in the meeting, Mandy Walters, Pend Oreille County Library District director, updated the council on an ongoing project to relocate the Newport Library from 116 S. Washington Ave. to a new building.
The new building would be constructed on one-half of a 3-acre lot by Stratton Elementary School on the corner of Highway 2 and South Calispel Avenue, which POCLD has access to through a memorandum of understanding with the council that is set to expire in 10 years.
In one draft Walters presented to the council Monday, the new building was on the south side of the lot, parallel to Highway 2. Besides the library itself, the draft included a plaza, community spaces, a staff area, parking, after-hours access and outdoor access. The remaining 1-and-ahalf acres were reserved for future city development.
“This is all very, very loose and rough right now,” Walters said at the meeting. “We’re hoping to do this fall a public input piece on the structure of the building.”
Only two problems: the new building’s proximity to city wells, and its proximity to both Highway 2 and the Newport School District.
Despite the latter, Walters does not anticipate a traffic flow heavy enough to warrant a study with the Washington State Department of Transportation. But Gribi said city wells require a 1,000-foot radius — and there may be at least one by the lot.
“We could definitely work that in and figure that out, I think,” Walters said. “And if there’s no way to do the 1,000-foot radius, we can go vertically. It’s definitely not the preference because then you leave the dirt for half the lot, but you gotta do what you gotta do.”
In other business, one audience member spoke to the council about her experiences as a homeless resident with disabilities, expressing her dissatisfaction with social services in both the city and county. Campbell thanked her as she left partway through her prepared speech.
