04-13-11 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL APRIL 13, 2011 Council at an earlier meeting, but the changes proposed by the City Attorney may be more aggressive than was intended, although that may be more appropriate. He noted that the changes, if adopted, will impact current licensees at the time their licenses are renewed. These changes include limited hours of operation, sales of paraphernalia, and a definition of a tobacco sample that is stricter than the definition included in State Law. The City Administrator felt the Council should review and comment on the ordinance. He indicated that he would request the City Attorney attend the next Council meeting to discuss the ordinance changes. Once the Council is comfortable with the changes, the current tobacco licensees would be invited to the Council meeting at which the ordinance amendment would be considered to give them an opportunity to comment. Blesener indicated that he liked the language in the ordinance clarifying sample size. The Administrator reported that the City Attorney proposed a tighter definition than what is in the Clean Indoor Air Act as it appears there are liberties being taken with sample sizes as defined under this Act. The Administrator indicated that if there are violations with sample sizes, the ordinance proposed by the City Attorney would provide a better basis to cite than the Clean Indoor Air Act. Blesener pointed out that there are restrictions under the proposed ordinance which will be controversial to the owners of the two tobacco shops in the City. Keis asked if other cities have been contacted relative to their experiences with hookah shops. He suggested that some of the ordinance provisions may be too aggressive. The City Administrator indicated that other cities have not been surveyed. He noted that hookah shops do not appear to be commonplace, therefore, there may not be much regulation enacted as of this point. Keis asked about law enforcement's experience with these shops. The Administrator noted that the Sheriff's Department has been informed of the City's two new tobacco shops. "There has not been any discussion about hookah shops at the monthly Sheriff's meetings. McGraw felt the City's shops were unique and indicated that he would rather have the proposed ordinance on the books at this time. McGraw expressed concern about the hours of operation for the hookah shop extending into the middle of the night. Keis pointed out that bars can stay open until 2 a.m. The City Administrator indicated that the specifics of the proposed ordinance can be discussed with the City Attorney at the next meeting. Once the Council is comfortable with the changes, the licensees can be invited to a meeting to express their views. 7