Board of City Commissioners - July 1, 2021 Minutes

Agreeable with a call for a Special Meeting issued by Mayor Mahoney, the Board of City Commissioners of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, convened in a Special Meeting in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall at 12:00 o'clock p.m., Thursday, July 1, 2021.

The Commissioners present or absent were as shown following:
Present: Gehrig, Piepkorn, Preston (via conference call), Strand, Mahoney.
Mayor Mahoney presiding.

Mayor Mahoney stated he called the Special Meeting of the City Commission to consider the existence of cause for the immediate interim suspension of the liquor license of the International African Restaurant and Nightclub LLC due to public safety and health concerns in accordance with Fargo Municipal Code
Section 25-15-22 (B)(6) and subsequent to the Liquor Control Board recommendation of suspension, pending further proceedings.

60-day Suspension of the Liquor License held by the International African Restaurant and Nightclub LLC Approved:
Police Chief David Zibolski shared the summary he presented to the Liquor Control Board on June 29th. He said the timeline shows a disturbing pattern of Police calls to the International African Restaurant and Nightclub that includes active fights, security guards interfering with police investigations, patrons in the business after hours, employees with drinks after hours, underage youth inside establishment, 911 hang-up calls, loud bass music, assault reports, firearm discharged, trespass, an incident with a bus of intoxicated patrons, and most notably, a gunshot homicide. The May 23rd homicide in the parking lot is still an active investigation; therefore, so much of the information cannot be shared publicly, he said; however, it happened at 2:11 a.m. in the parking lot west of the club where Dominique McNair, a security guard working for the club subsequently died of his injuries. He said Francis Brown, the manager, said he hired Mr. McNair a week before the shooting to work security; however, Mr. Brown was not able to provide law enforcement with a paper or electronic record of employment and said he leaves it to the employees whether they want to be on the books and receive a paycheck or be paid in cash at the end of the shift, and McNair elected to be paid in cash. He said multiple security personnel employed by the Club told law enforcement they were directed by Mr. Brown to clear the parking lot when the bar closes and they carry handguns when they clear the lot. Mr. Brown told law enforcement he has no knowledge of his security carrying handguns, he said. Security and patrons said club security pats down customers at the door for weapons, he said, and if a gun is discovered, an employee retains it on site and returns it to the patron when they leave, which is not lawful conduct. In addition, he said, Mr. McNair, who was armed and collecting guns would have been subject to a separate felony offense for each gun he came in contact with as he was a convicted felon. Video footage during the May 23rd shooting shows at least three individuals inside the club holding what appear to be handguns in the kitchen and bar areas, he said, and law enforcement was told by Mr. Brown he would identify them; however, that has not occurred. He said follow-up efforts with Mr. Brown were not successful to clarify security situations and whom he knew to be armed, etc. Mr. Brown told officers that Cory Schultz is a financial partner and Adrian Greene is the general manager. There is a lot of confusion about who is in charge of security, he said, and three were named: Adrian Rodriguez, Enoch Varkpah and “Spade” who has not been identified or interviewed. He said there is also confusion about who was allowed to have guns in the club and the procedure if a gun were brought in. It is illegal for patrons to bring guns into a club, he said.

Assistant City Attorney Nancy Morris said the recommendation from the Liquor Control Board is a 60-day suspension.

Commissioner Piepkorn said other entities will be involved with this case, including ND Workforce Safety and Insurance, IRS, ATF and FBI. It is alarming that they are being paid in cash, he said, which seems to have a potential of money laundering or ongoing criminal activity on top of everything. He said he agrees the license holder needs to have an opportunity to give his side of the story; however, he supports Chief Zibolski’s recommendation. He said to let it go on, particularly on this 4th of July holiday weekend, it would be on the Board if anything bad were to happen. The Liquor Control Board made its recommendation and were going to wait until the next City Commission meeting for a decision; however, the Chief feels this is an urgent issue and he supports it as a public safety issue.

In response to a question from Commissioner Preston asking why this is subject to suspension and not revocation, Chief Zibolski said he would not argue against revocation; however, he recommended suspension.

Ms. Morris said the recommendation for interim suspension is for additional time used to gather information regarding ownership, managers, conduct in the facility and compliance with other laws. There is a need for further investigation, she said, and then an opportunity for a Hearing for the licensee to respond.

Commissioner Preston said she has a concern for the applicant of this license and whether it is indeed the actual management and ownership of the business, an issue on top of everything else. She said she hopes, whether it is now or later, that there will be a conversation for revocation. She said all the problems seen cannot be solved in the near future and she would hate to see this business open up again.

In response to a question from Commissioner Gehrig asking whether after a suspension there is a requirement for the Commission to vote to give the license back, Ms. Morris said the motion would be for an interim suspension and then it would come back for a full hearing, at which time it would be decided whether to suspend, revoke or take some other action.

In response to a question from Commissioner Gehrig asking if this club is the busiest for calls of service, Chief Zibolski said this club has steadily increased in the severity of calls and he has serious concerns if it continues to operate in the fashion it has been.

Commissioner Gehrig said just the list of problems presented today is enough to take away a license. He said there is another bar with the same list of problems, and he wonders why no one will talk about that bar. He said he hopes the Police Department and Liquor Control Board look at other bars as well.

Commissioner Strand said there has been a death outside the HoDo, the Bismarck and Rick’s Bar. He said he would ask the difference and why this case goes over the tipping point.

Chief Zibolski said those other instances happened to occur at the bar and not related to the bar itself. In this example, this whole business is operating illegally by not keeping employee rosters and records, allowing guns, overserving, over intoxication issues, firearm incidents and fights and that is not seen in the other examples. He said calls are being tracked now in an intentional manner and that information will continually be brought to the Liquor Control Board for review.

Commissioner Strand said, as he recalls, there were questions with this license when it first came to the Board. He said going forward more attention needs to be paid to those signals and concerns should be re-evaluated.

Commissioner Preston said what is reflected on the final application that was approved does not accurately reflect what is happening as far as management and ownership of the bar. She would like the Liquor Control Board to go back and look at the approval process for applications and transfers.

Commissioner Strand said even though this was not announced as a public hearing and one would be held later, he feels it would be reasonable to hear from a representative now if someone is in attendance.

Stephen Baird said he appeared before as the attorney for the bar’s owners. He said previous management has been dismissed following a meeting where surprising details came to light to which the owners were not privy. He has been hired as the General Manager to bring the business into full compliance and fix numerous issues, he said, and there is a path to operating this business safely and successfully and bring it into compliance. To clarify ownership, he said, the owners are Mballu Brown and Cory Schultz. The original application found Francis Brown ineligible so his wife agreed to take ownership and run it with Mr. Schultz, he said, and while Mr. Brown on occasion has identified himself as the owner, that is incorrect and it is one of the reasons Mr. Brown was dismissed.

In response to a question from Commissioner Preston asking whether management changes are registered, City Auditor Steve Sprague said they like to know when there is a management change to keep a local contact. He said a background check is done at the time of an application; however, in the current system when a manager changes, a background check is not done on a manager.

Commissioner Preston said she would ask the Liquor Control Board to look at that part of the process.

In response to a question from Commissioner Strand asking whether other bars are on his radar for action, Chief Zibolski said while there are some others with incidents; there is nothing near to what is happening within this facility. He said the Liquor Control Board will be kept appraised of their contacts, not necessarily to take action but as notice so the Board is aware of the background and can take action if necessary.

Commissioner Piepkorn moved that the Commission finds that cause exists to immediately suspend the liquor license held by the International African Restaurant and Nightclub LLC for 60-days in accordance with Fargo Municipal Code Section 25-1512(B)(6) in that the licensee conducts business in a manner which results in, encourages or is conducive to the creation of disturbances of the peace, disorderly conduct or any other violations of Federal, State and/or City laws and that Liquor sales cease immediately pursuant to the license issued by the City of Fargo pending a Hearing on the matter to be scheduled at a later time.

Second by Strand. On call of the roll Commissioners Piepkorn, Strand, Gehrig, Preston and Mahoney voted aye.
No Commissioner absent and none voting nay, the motion was declared carried.

The time at adjournment was 12:37 p.m.