Liquor Control Board - November 21, 2018 Minutes
LIQUOR CONTROL COMMITTEE MEETING
November 21, 2018 1:30 P.M.
Present: Commissioner Piepkorn, Police Chief Todd, City Auditor Sprague, Grant Larson, Environmental Health,
Absent: Commissioner Gehrig
Others Present: Assistant City Attorney Alyssa Farol; Rick Carik, Rick’s; Dustin Mitzel, Happy Harry’s, Melissa Rademacher & Travis Koch DCP, Other members of the media, concerned citizens and other members of the industry.
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 P.M.
1. Commissioner Piepkorn called the meeting to order and asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of October 17, 2018. There were no additions or corrections to the minutes of October 17, 2018. Moved by Chief Todd, seconded by Larson to approve the minutes of the October 17, 2018 meeting of the Liquor Control Board all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
2. A. The first application to be considered today is for the issuance of a Class “FA-Entertainment” alcoholic beverage license to Golf Addiction ND LLC d/b/a Golf Addiction to be located at 4474 23rd Avenue South.
Chief Todd commented there are no issues with the application and no issues operationally with their current location, He mentioned the expanded facility plans on having axe throwing as an activity, they discussed the safety precautions and he is comfortable with the business plan.
Moved by Larson, seconded by Todd to approve the issuance of a Class “FA-Entertainment” alcoholic beverage license to Golf Addiction ND LLC d/b/a Golf Addiction to be located at 4474 23rd Avenue South, all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
3. Sprague commented the DCP Event permit that suspends the open consumption during a DCP event has a sunset clause and will expire December 31 if changes to the ordinance are not made. After the last Liquor Control Board, meeting a letter was sent to all liquor licensees in the downtown seeking comment. A number of responses were received and are included in your packet. In general everyone was supportive and some license holders wanted to expand the participation. Sprague mentioned the DCP incurred a number of costs to follow the ordinance and sponsor the event. The DCP received a number of applications to be included in the street fair and selected participants who would provide the most benefit to the street fair. It was imperative to the DCP that control and access to the alcohol be maintained, they didn’t want a situation where they were unsure of where the alcohol was obtained. Some felt it was a pay to play scenario and wanted to full participation to the downtown by purchasing cups. Sprague commented that sounded a lot like a pub crawl and he was of the opinion that was not the direction the City wanted to go. He reminded the Board this is just the beginning and we needed to take it slowly, not relax the rules too much at this point. Finally, he said the only changes being recommended for the ordinance are to remove the sunset provision and change the application from receipt of the application to notification of an event 45 days before the event.
Lieutenant Helmick reviewed the DCP events with the Board, the DCP held 4 events; Street Fair, 2 Corks and Canvas and the Winter Lights Parade. The impact on police services for the Street Fair showed less calls than the prior year Street Fair, less calls than a typical Thursday, Friday or Saturday night and overall the number of calls for service dropped. For citations for consuming in public, fewer citations were issued than the prior Street Fair and less citations than a typical weekend. Two additional officers were on extra service duty in addition to the Downtown Resource Officers who normally work the downtown. The key to the success of the events has been the meticulous planning with the DCP. The approach was one of education rather than citation. DCP paid for extra patrol officers. The events were family friendly, not alcohol focused.
Corks and Canvas events were held August 8th and October 11th with no issues to report. Recently the DCP sponsored the Holiday Lights Parade and was well received, most of the alcohol stayed by the fire pits and tent.
Chief Todd asked if there were lessons learned? Helmick replied it was important to limit the number of vendors, that made it easier to meet to discuss expectations, it was important to view the events as educational opportunities, it is important to maintain control over who is distributing the alcohol. Finally, we need to work on the signage and make sure we are meeting the ordinance requirements. Helmick said planning was what made the events successful.
Piepkorn asked if the ordinance needs modification. Sprague replied the only modifications being suggested are to eliminate the sunset provision and change the 45 day application to 45 day notification.
Travis Koch, DCP Chairman, said thank you for the opportunity to pilot this change. He said the DCP Board has the utmost confidence in Melissa Rademacher and her ability to run this program successfully. He said there were numerous meeting held to make the event successful, the DCP is in a position to continue with the DCP Event permit. This is something the community desires, whole families were participating this year where in the past that was not true. He said the opinion of the DCP Board is the ordinance works; we need to continue to communicate and educate.
Melissa Rademacher said the keys to a successful event are communication, planning and partnerships. We need to continue to communicate the route and where open container is permitted, planning with the vendors and partnering with local licensees and the City to continue to make this a successful event. She commented that a lot goes into the event to hold everyone accountable, this year she wanted to make sure she knew and could count on the participants. Koch commented the event accepted numerous applications to be a vendor, the fees charged were to offset the costs. This was not a revenue producer for the DCP, just used to enhance the event.
A downtown resident said the downtown neighborhood association would not be in favor of allowing open carry every weekend. Rademacher replied it is only for select DCP events.
Piepkorn said he wants the product to be repeatable. He doesn’t feel it should be everyday. Grant Larson said want makes it successful are the accountability parameters. Chief Todd said there was significant amount of time spent in drafting the ordinance and it is extremely restrictive, he is ok with the ordinance being presented. We can review it again next year.
Moved by Chief Todd, seconded by Larson to make the changes presented on the DCP Event ordinance, removing the sunset provision and changing the 45 day application requirement to 45 day notification, no other changes are recommended.
There being no further business to come before the Liquor Control Board, the meeting was adjourned at 2:04 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room at old City Hall.