BAY CITY, Mich. (WJRT) – “They had a rough year with COVID and everything being shutdown, so we wanted to do as much as we could to encourage that entrepreneurship in the community,” said Bay City Commissioner, Jesse Dockett (1st Ward).

Dockett believes one way to encourage and support local businesses on the Midland Street entertainment district is to make sure the environment is a safe one, following a large brawl that took place last month that police say involved more than 200 people.

“There were a few problems in the area a couple of weeks ago and we wanted to make sure that we were doing everything that we could. There were some problems earlier in the year and we added some additional police officers to the area and stepped up security in the area and there were still a couple bad actors who came down and did the wrong thing,” Dockett said.

Monday night, Docket introduced a resolution that would create a bigger police presence with 4 officers instead of two, and add additional security measures to the area.

“We are also going to have a perimeter fence around the area so that people going in to the Midland street area will be checked at the gate then they’ll be asked to enter one of the establishments so loitering won’t be allowed anymore,” he said.

Dockett said the goal of the resolution, which takes effect immediately— is for people to be able to visit the area, have a good time without fear of violence.

“You know ultimately, our responsibility is to make sure that people are safe and able to thrive in the community,” Dockett said.

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