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HomeMy Public PortalAboutCouncil Minutes 2002 05/29MINUTES McCall City Council Special Meeting Wednesday, May 29, 2002 Table of Contents Call To Order and Roll Call Business Alcohol Beverage License Owners Adjournment Page 1 of 4 May 29, 2002 City Council Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Mayor Colton called the special meeting of the McCall City Council to order at 1:00 pm. Ms. Arp, Mr. Muller, Mr. Colton, Mr. Eimers, and Mr. Kaiser answered roll call. A quorum was present. City staff members present were Attorney Susan Buxton, City Manager Robert Strope and Finance Director/City Clerk Cathleen Koch. BUSINESS Alcohol Beverage License Owners Chief Appa thanked Council for the opportunity to discuss the situation. He said last Wednesday and Thursday McCall Police Department conducted an inspection for compliance of alcohol laws. He explained why the inspection occurred. The primary duty of enforcement falls upon the local agencies. If the local agencies are negligent in enforcement they can be held criminally liable. Mr. Appa explained that detectives of the police department requested to conduct an inspection. They consulted with Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) who is not able to conduct inspections with personnel constraints. Mr. Appa consulted with the City Manager and was given his approval for the inspections to commence. Virtually every licensed premises had a code violation. This pointed out a real problem that needs to be addressed. The police department's long-term goals are training and education. Mr. Appa mentioned that underage consumption and bar fights were the two main reasons why the inspections were conducted. The police department did not want to single out one particular establishment. They have the right to inspect all establishments. Mr. Appa stated that he spoke to the City and County Prosecutors. They have agreed to hold the charges in abeyance. Prosecutors agreed that it was a good idea because a compliance check had not been done recently. Mr. Appa asked Council to allow him to have a citizens advisory committee to advise the police department on priorities. He needs to know what is expected. He asked Council for a vote of confidence for the police department. Lieutenant Bob Clements, ABC, said local agencies enforce the laws. Mr. Clements explained the services that ABC provides. Mr. Eimers asked how often inspections occur. Mr. Clements said it varies quite a bit. Ms. Arp asked if guidelines are distributed for frequency of inspections. Mr. Clements said guidelines are not distributed but officers receive training at Peace Officer Standards Training (POST). Page 2 of 4 May 29, 2002 City Council Minutes Mr. Eimers asked if inspections are conducted in response to complaints. Mr. Clements said inspections are conducted in response to complaints and at random. Mr. Nally, State Liquor Dispensary, explained that all liquor is stamped. The stamps allow law enforcement to track where it came from. There are some problems with the stamps, such as not sticking. Bottles could be missing stickers for this reason or because the liquor was purchased out of state. Pat Harbert, Yacht Club, asked if the police officers had been trained by ABC. Mr. Appa said they receive POST training and they were in contact with ABC during some of the inspections. Mr. Harbert asked if all establishments received a citation. Mr. Summers said some were cited and some were referred to ABC for felony violations. Louie Howard, Lardos Grill and Saloon, asked the police department to list the felony charges. Mr. Appa said the felony charges were for failure to have stickers attached. Mr. Howard said education would be better than tickets. Mr. Appa read a state statute that says liquor must be stamped. ABC confirmed that the license holder must check for stickers. Mr. Nally said that the liquor dispensaries have been told to ensure that bottles have stickers when going to a licensed establishment. Rod Neilsen, Si Bueno, said the violation for Si Bueno was for empty liquor bottles found in an outside dumpster. The bottles had not been defaced as required by state law. Tim Garber, The Mill, said he spoke to Kim at the liquor store. She said over the last 6 weeks approximately 50 percent of the bottles left the store unstamped. Molly Cox, Mother's Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), commended the police department and officers for their level of concern for the citizens of McCall. She said she hopes Council backs the police department in their efforts to ensure liquor is not being sold to underage kids and over -selling liquor is not occurring. Betty Stadler, MADD and bar owner, said it might be a good thing that this happened. Everyone has gotten complacent. She asked if everyone has done everything right. A great injustice would be done if Council decided to change law enforcement over this issue. Dwayne Smith said a friend told him he came to McCall to vacation but he is going home on probation. Mr. Smith said we can all work together. Harry Stathis, business owner, said we wouldn't be here today if the police department had explained the procedures to the bar owners. Mr. Appa said it was his understanding that the two previous Chiefs had done just that. Mr. Appa said hind sight is 20/20. He may or may not have done it differently. Page 3 of 4 May 29, 2002 City Council Minutes ATTEST: Loretta Jarvis works in one of the establishments in town. Ms. Jarvis said she didn't think the police department should use underage undercover people to bait the establishments as Mr. Appa suggested. Mr. Appa said he did not know of another plan to ensure compliance. Ms. Jarvis said a citizen's advisory committee is a great idea. Jim Campbell asked what inspections were done and what infractions were found. Mr. Appa said a comprehensive inspection was done and the common infractions were not defacing stickers or having stickers. Mr. Kaiser asked if there was an education requirement for becoming a licensed establishment. ABC said they were not aware of any such requirement. Mr. Colton moved to appoint an advisory committee to work with the police department. Ms. Arp seconded the motion. All Council members voted aye. The motion carried. Mitch Ruska volunteered to be on the committee. Mr. Smith added that high school kids should be on the committee. Mr. Kaiser said more than controlling what the police department does, establishments need to understand the laws and that the police department is required to enforce the laws. Mr. Kaiser moved to express his support of the police department knowing that any differences can be smoothed over. Mr. Colton seconded the motion. Mr. Eimers said he was uncomfortable with the motion because the police department has stuff to learn first. Ms. Arp said she will give the police department her vote of confidence that this issue will and can get resolved. Three Council members voted aye, two Council members voted no. The motion carried. ADJOURNMENT Without further businofi lr. Colton moved to adjourn. Mr. Eimers seconded the motion. All Cour oltl a sryoted aye. The motion carried. Council adjourned at 2:45 pm. I•'0 dye. i rV LO O v • •• 010i goo „kr Cathleen A. Koch, Finance Director/City Clerk Page 4 of 4 May 29, 2002 City Council Minutes