Mayor George Flaggs Jr. is meeting with downtown merchants July 19 to discuss allowing people to walk in specific areas downtown with open containers holding alcoholic beverages.

The 5:30 p.m. meeting will be held at the City Hall Annex on Walnut Street.

Vicksburg is one of 14 cities in the state allowed to have a “leisure and recreation district” in the city that allows people to walk out of a restaurant or bar carrying an open container in a designated part of the city as a way to attract more restaurants downtown.

The special district is a provision of the state’s alcohol beverage regulations that was passed during the 2016 session of the Legislature.

When the board passed a resolution in January seeking inclusion in the provision, Flaggs said the special district could be somewhere between Jackson and Veto streets, adding, “It’s something the administration has to look at.”

He said the July 19 meeting is aimed at getting suggestions from the downtown merchants.

“I want to get some input from them; what they’d like to see,” he said. “I’ve got some ideas, like having it just on the bricks. I’ve got an idea of having a special cup — you’ve got to have a special cup only so the police can identify the cup you’re using — and the different times. I might not do it except on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

“I’m going to throw that out just to see what they��re thinking; I’m not going to do it without their input. We’re not going to do anything without their input.”