HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/11/2008 Council MinutesAPPROVED
•1 CITY OF LINO LAKES
2 MINUTES
3 LIQUOR COMPLIANCE HEARING
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6 DATE : February 11, 2008
7 TIME STARTED : 6:17 p.m.
8 TIME ENDED : 6:43 p.m.
9 MEMBERS PRESENT : Councilmember Gallup, O'Donnell, Reinert,
10 Stoltz and Mayor Bergeson
11 MEMBERS ABSENT : None
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13 Staff members present: City Administrator, Gordon Heitke; City Attorney, Scott Baumgartner;
14 Public Safety Director, Dave Pecchia; Police Captain, Kent Strege; and City Clerk, Julie Bartell
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16 HEARING ON LIQUOR CODE VIOLATIONS
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18 Police Captain Strege reported that the Police Department conducted liquor compliance checks
19 on June 21, 2007 and officers found several patrons still inside of Miller's on Main after hours.
20 This is a violation of the liquor ordinance. Each of the five patrons was issued a citation and has
21 subsequently pled guilty. The license holder of Miller's on Main was also issued a citation. On
22 the civil side, the police department is recommending that the council follow the Best Practice
23 Grid and institute a fine of $500 to the license holder.
Mr24
25 Chad Wagner, Miller's on Main, explained that he was out of town when the violation occurred.
26 He understands it is for having patrons on site after hours, however, there is a discrepancy to
27 report. The ticket was issued at 2:30 a.m. and, according to city ordinance, 30 minutes is
28 allowed so technically a ticket written at 2:30 is not valid. Mr. Wagner reported that he has
29 attempted to argue this matter in court (criminal side) and it has been delayed twice. He has not
30 yet had his day in court. Also, because he received his citation in the mail three weeks after the
31 event, he was not able to verify timing with his record keeping system.
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33 Scott Baumgartner, City Attorney, noted that Anoka County has a revolving calendar for the
34 prosecuting attorneys for economy sake. It would not be unusual to have a request postponed
35 when there is a request to dismiss. He believes the probable message from the court system
36 would be that Mr. Wagner has a question and it would be looked into. That has been done and
37 Mr. Baumgartner reported that he has clarified that the ticket is valid and indicates a violation.
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39 Mr. Wagner noted that the time of violation on the ticket is 2:30 a.m. He added that the
40 bartender was going to give these people a ride home for safety sake. Also the clock in the
41 establishment is set to "bar time", 15 minutes fast.
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43 Mr. Baumgartner replied that he can respect what the bartender was going to do and also that the
44 window of 30 minutes is allowed. With those considerations, however, there is still a violation.
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•46 Mr. Wagner asked that the council review the police report. There is information indicating that
COMPLIANCE HEARING MINUTES 2 February 11, 2008
APPROVED
•47 the officers arrived early.
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49 At council request, Mr. Baumgartner explained that the city's Liquor Ordinance includes a half -
50 hour leeway to allow establishments to clear. This includes clearing of the entire premises, not
51 just the building.
52
53 Mr. Wagner noted that he's been told that people should cross the street and wait in the parking
54 lot. He understands what the code says but it isn't a sensible approach and also puts the
55 bartender in a difficult situation in having to go out and move people along.
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57 Mr. Baumgartner noted that he believes officers will use discretion if people are ready to move
58 along. There are certain responsibilities that accompany the holding of a liquor license.
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60 Captain Strege noted that dispatch records indicate that the officers were in the lot at 2:30 so that
61 would put them in the building after 2:30.
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63 Public Safety Director Pecchia added that the four individuals that were cited did plead guilty
64 and pay their fine to Anoka County.
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66 Mr. Wagner noted that he accompanied the patrons in court and the circumstances were that they
67 were offered basically a plea agreement or to spend at least another day in court to fight the
68 ticket.
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70 Council Member O'Donnell moved that the staff recommendation be moved forward to the City
71 Council meeting. Council Member Stoltz seconded the motion.
72
73 Susan Raddon (sp), Miller's on Main bartender, reported that when the officers entered the
74 building, she was told by the police that everyone needed to be out at 2:00 a.m. She feels the
75 officer was not informed and thought that everyone needed to be out at 2:00 a.m.. She believes it
76 was still a couple of minutes before 2:30 when the citations were issued and that the officer felt
77 they were already in violation at 2:00 a.m.
78
79 Mr. Wagner added that timing is everything in this matter and everyone's time clock is not
80 synchronized. This is a frustrating situation.
81
82 The Mayor noted that the dispatch center time should be accurate.
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84 Mr. Baumgartner noted that he has read the police report. According to the officer's
85 observations, there were four males playing cards when the officers entered and one had an
86 almost full beer before him.
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88 Motion carried on a voice vote.
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90 The meeting was adjourned at 6:43 p.m.
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COMPLIANCE HEARING MINUTES 3 February 11, 2008
APPROVED
AK 91
92 These minutes were considered and approved at the regular City Council Meeting on February
93 25, 2008.
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98 Juliann : a ell, City Cler John Bergeson, Mayor
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