HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-13-09 Community Alcohol Coalition Minutes.docx
Minutes: October 13, 2009, Community Alcohol Coalition
Members present: Jason Karls, Suzanna Darr, Marty Kent, Jenny Haubenreiser, Rick Gale, Jenna Caplette
Guest: David Madison, Montana Community Change Project (Institute for Public Strategies)
September minutes were approved by the members present.
Public comment: none
Special Presentations and discussion items:
Stream Line Late Night bus service: Jenny discussed a recent conversation with a student from ASMSU
working on issues pertaining to Streamline Late Night bus service. During the past couple of years, as
bus service has expanded, a number of issues related to security and ridership have emerged. Students
working on the committee advising Stream Line are seeking input from the CAC, specifically training for
drivers and attendants. Marty feels BPD may be able to help if they have more information. Rick relayed
some experiences and challenges with a late night bus service he oversaw in California.
Statewide Social Host Ordinance: David Madison from MTCCP was introduced and described the work
he has been doing around the state on social host policies. MTCCP is a division of Institutes for Public
Strategies, which conducts state-level research on alcohol related issues, including underage access to
alcohol. According to their data, private residences and parties are the number one place college
students get alcohol. David cited data from other communities and connected social host policies with
other “environmental” strategies we have worked on, such as keg registration.
Other MT communities with social host policies include Helena, Billings, and most recently, Great Falls.
Each community took a different approach in creating and advocating for the ordinance. Bozeman can
learn from these communities re: how best to write the policy and increase public awareness and
support. For instance, since adopting their ordinance, Helena has found the civil penalty they included
as a sanction not to work from a prosecution standpoint. They are now seeking to change their sanction
to a criminal penalty, similar to Billings and Great Falls. In terms of increasing community awareness, it is
recommended that the CAC emphasize the value of these policies for law enforcement and be able to
demonstrate how the policy “closes the gaps” in existing laws. Billings built strong support among law
enforcement, which helped move their policy forward. Helena had external funding to organize a
number of community educational events, which were also successful.
The group discussed options for the CAC to engage the commission and the community in the process.
Jason and Jenny are considering a joint presentation to commissioners (from a prevention standpoint).
Other suggestions included the involvement of local SROs & DARE officers to help personalize the issue
of underage drinking during presentations and forums. Rick emphasized the value of including stories
(versus just using data) when trying to educate the public.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.