07-12-2023 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL JULY 129 2023 parking lot, and often on weekends there are over 70 people in there partying. He stated that the Hookah Hideout also does not accept credit cards and only accepts cash. He did not believe the business was a smoke shop and is instead a nightclub/speakeasy that is operating under a smoke shop license. He commented that this is a safety concern. He commented that there are so many people in that business that the bathroom cannot be used by everyone, and people are urinating and defecating in the parking lot or back of the building. He stated that he has not seen the owner, David Nelson, at the shop in over four years, and believed that the business is often being run by whoever has the most money to rent it at that time. He stated that as a cigarette business, he has relationships with the distributors, and no one is delivering to Hookah Hideout because they are not purchasing tobacco products. The City Attorney asked when his business closes and when the liquor bottles are noticed. Mr. DeRosa replied that his business is open until 11 p.m. and commented that he is unsure if the bottles are in the parking lot at that time because of the large number of vehicles. He stated that he has observed people sitting on their vehicles, pouring alcohol into their cups to go into Hookah Hideout. He noted that the employee of the previous speaker picks up liquor bottles from the parking lot and resells them on Craigslist because there are so many. He stated that the Hookah Hideout is not a smoke shop and the activity there is illegal. The City Attorney asked if any other businesses in the mall are open after 11 p.m. Mr. DeRosa. commented that no other businesses are open past that time with the exception of Hookah Hideout. The City Attorney asked the operating hours for the other businesses in the mall. Mr. DeRosa commented that the business that closes before him is the pizza establishment, which closes at 10 p.m. He stated that when he closes at 11 p.m., the parking lot for the mall is packed full until 2 or 3 a.m. The City Attorney asked if the parking lot is packed all day. He asked for an estimate of the number of vehicles in the parking lot during the day and in the evening. Mr. DeRosa commented that when he opens there are under 20 vehicles in the parking lot for all the businesses, noting that the Hookah Hideout does not open until 11 a.m. He stated that at 6 p.m. the lot for Hookah Hideout is full and spilling into his parking area. He commented that everyone from those vehicles is going into Hookah Hideout. David Nelson, owner of Hookah Hideout, stated that he is present to answer questions. Mayor Fischer asked if Mr. Nelson is operating the day-to-day operation onsite. Mr. Nelson replied that he is, noting that he is not onsite every day, but is there twice a week to place orders and process payroll. He stated that he does delegate other duties to employees as he owns other businesses as well. T. Miller asked why the employees would not recognize his name when asked. Mr. Nelson replied that there is a high turnover for employees and there have been occasions when he allows other employees to handle hiring and terminating of employees. T. Miller asked the number of times staff has inquired about Mr. Nelson. The City Clerk replied that she has visited the business herself twice and the employees did not know who David Nelson was. She