Business owners and residents urge council to revise alcohol‑permit language and investigate Flock surveillance cameras

During the public‑comment period, a stream of downtown business owners and residents urged the Idaho Falls City Council to revisit proposed changes to the city’s alcohol ordinance and to address community concerns about Flock Safety surveillance cameras.

On the alcohol ordinance, Shane Dyle, president of the Downtown Merchants Association, told the council the draft contains a provision that would allow immediate event shutdowns "with no appeal," calling it constitutionally vague and an overbroad delegation of power. Venue owners—including Moses Moran (The Heart), Matt Jacobson and Megan Dehm—said a hard cap on catering permits and broad subpoena powers for police and the city attorney could cripple small, community‑oriented event spaces and expose proprietors to intrusive demands for video and payroll records. Business owners asked for a graduated penalty structure (warnings or fines for minor/first violations) and for clear protections for confidential business and security footage.

Separately, residents raised alarms about Flock Safety cameras already deployed around Idaho Falls. Finn Garren and Brian McKellar described alleged data leaks, claims of broad multi‑agency access to plate and vehicle data, and examples from other jurisdictions where vendor employees purportedly accessed interior camera feeds during demos. McKellar asked council for three actions: an immediate audit of any queries involving Idaho Falls residents, disclosure of all data‑sharing agreements, and a council vote within 30 days to terminate the Flock contract if security and transparency are not addressed.

Council response and next steps: The meeting host reminded speakers that the council had purposely delayed adoption of the alcohol ordinance to obtain public comment. Staff said they would follow up on public comments. No ordinance vote was taken during public comment; no immediate action to terminate the Flock contract was recorded, though council acknowledged the requests and indicated follow‑up would occur.

Representative quotes

"That provision is unconstitutional... There is no appeal. That is not public safety, that is arbitrary power," said Shane Dyle about the ordinance.

"This system already has over 2,800,000 cameras nationwide... I am asking this council to act decisively tonight... immediately audit every query... and disclose all data sharing agreements," said Brian McKellar regarding Flock Safety.