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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-10 Community Alcohol Coalition Minutes Minutes: Community Alcohol Coalition March 9, 2010 Members present: Rick Gale, Jenny Haubenreiser, Jason Karls, Keith Hart, Glenn Puffer, Cyndy Andrus Guests: David Madison (Institute for Public Strategies) February minutes were approved by members present. No public comment. Special presentations -Jason gave an overview of a recent discussion about alcohol licenses in Bozeman. The issue was raised during a meeting with City staff to discuss distribution of liquor licenses among businesses in Montana. Jason provided an overview received from the state liquor control office, including the range of licenses available and how these are handled. The group discussed various points, including the impact of more licenses being available in Bozeman, e.g., impact on tourism, impact on the businesses, impact of alcohol outlet density within certain areas, and crime rates within high-outlet density areas. The group acknowledged that beer and wine licenses for restaurants (“cabaret” license) are much less of a risk to the community. Action Items -Members discussed the City’s proposal re: long-term encroachment of public right-of-way for private use in the downtown area, which could include outdoor alcohol service. Jenny reviewed the memo submitted by the Engineering staff to the City, which included CAC feedback. CAC members suggested only one addition to the memo – to include some type of monitoring system. Since the Sidewalk Café ordinance has not been widely utilized (by businesses serving alcohol) there is no information re: potential for problems. -Rick gave a brief report on the presentation he and Becky gave to BHS parents re: the social host ordinance. Several parents expressed a willingness to speak publically about their experience with youth alcohol use when the ordinance comes before the Commission. -David gave an overview of a briefing paper re: Social Host IPS has been working on. He pointed out key attributes of these policies: to serve as a tool for law enforcement and to close the gaps in existing policy. To date, Billings has had the most success with the ordinance. He also explained how civil penalties have worked in California (fines are very high and applied to individual utility bills if not paid). In Helena, the original civil penalty was found to be ineffective as prosecutors had no way of enforcing the sanction. They have since included criminal sanctions. -Several points were clarified by members present, including how social host ordinances would apply to hotel rooms and the service of alcohol to a minor child accompanied by an adult in restaurants. New Business -The group discussed appropriate means to get on the Commission agenda to provide an educational presentation on the social host ordinance. A draft ordinance was sent to the City’s legal staff in October 2008 and the CAC is still awaiting direction from the Commission. Cyndy provided some guidance on procedure and will discuss this with fellow Commissioners and get back to the group. The IPS video on social host policies in Montana will be available soon; copies will be made available to Commissioners to provide a broader background into the issue. -Jenny tabled the MIP discussion for the next meeting (since members from law enforcement were not present). th Meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m. Next meeting will be April 13.