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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLiquor Licensing Authority - Minutes - 08/10/19880 0 LIQUOR LICENSING AUTHORITY MINUTES Regular Meeting - August 10, 1988 6:40 p.m. A regular meeting of the Liquor Licensing Authority was held on Wednesday, August 10, 1988, in the Council Chambers of the Fort Collins Municipal Building. The following members were present: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Authority Members Absent: Bullard and Denmark. Staff Members Present: Kathy Allin, City Attorney's Office Rita Knoll, City Clerk's Office Ken Murray, Police Department Consent Calendar This calendar is intended to expedite the hearings and allow the Authority to spend its time and energy on the more controversial items on a lengthy agenda. Anyone may request an item on this calendar be "pulled" off the Consent Calendar and considered separately. Items pulled by anyone in the audience, the Authority, or staff will be discussed immediately following the Consent Calendar. Items of extreme controversy will be discussed near the end of the meeting under Pulled Consent Items. 1. Consider approval of the minutes of the July 20, 1988 regular meeting. 2. Results of Background Investigation: a. Sam Jacobsen, PDQ Food Store, 1037 Conifer. At its May 19, 1988 hearing, the Authority approved the 3.2% fermented malt beverage license for PDQ, 1037 Conifer, contingent upon a satisfactory background investigation of Sam Jacobsen, 100% stockholder. The Police Department has completed its investigation and has found no outstanding warrants, criminal history, or any major driving offenses. 3. Trade Name Change: a. The Sports Page to The Page, 181 North College. 4. Change of Location (Boundary Hearing): a. Pringle Brothers Fine Wines and Spirits, from 2170 West Drake Road #B7 to 2100 West Drake Road #11, 12, 13. 0 • August 10, 1988 This is a request from Pringle Brothers Fine Wines and Spirits to move from its current tenant space in Drake Crossing Shopping Center to a larger space within the same shopping center. The neighborhood boundaries are the same as those used at the time of the initial application in 1982, and these boundaries are acceptable to the applicant. Authority member Cooper made a motion, seconded by Authority member Garber, to adopt the Consent Calendar. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Expansion of Premises for The Egg 8 I. 2809 South College Ray Seaser, owner, explained the plans for addition of an enclosed sun room of approximately 425 square feet on the east side of the establishment. He stated this will increase the seating capacity of the establishment by 28-30 seats. He noted liquor sales at the restaurant are less that one half of one percent of total sales. He stated the addition is approximately a 12% increase. Authority member Poncelow made a motion, seconded by Authority member Cooper, to determine that the expansion is not substantial and to approve the expansion. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Final Hearing for a Hotel -Restaurant License for Club Columbine, 1307 East Prospect (Secretary's Note: This hearing was continued from the July 20, 1988 meeting.) Authority member Spaulding stated at the July 20 hearing the Authority had no objections to Mr. Witlen's operation of Club Columbine. She noted the Authority had questions about the premises to be licensed and the validity of the petitions circulated by Oedipus. Jay Witlen, owner, noted that the current tavern license at the Fort Collins Club was approved for the entire premises except for the childcare center and the massage therapy room. He stated the owner of the current license has provided a written statement agreeing to forfeit the tavern license upon issuance of a hotel -restaurant license. Max Scott, representing Oedipus, Inc., was sworn and explained the errors that occurred during the original petitioning for Club Columbine. He -2- 0 • August 10, 1988 stated he had submitted a map to be attached to the previous petitions to correct the map that was included in the first presentation, and affidavits from the circulators stating they presented the license petition as a hotel -restaurant license. He stated that the language of the petition circulator affidavit has been modified at the recommendation of the City Attorney for future petitions. Mr. Scott presented the results of a new survey, marked as Applicant's Exhibits 1, 2, and 3. He stated the second survey shows 78% in favor of the license. Mr. Witlen noted that liquor sales are anticipated to be less than 25%. Authority member Poncelow made a motion, seconded by Authority member Gadsby, to approve the hotel -restaurant license for JJJ Club, Inc., dba Club Columbine, 1307 East Prospect. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Authority member Gadsby made a motion, seconded by Authority member Garber, to approve the final resolution as read by title only. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Show Cause Hearing for Tony's Restaurant. 224 South College (Secretary's Note: This hearing was continued from the July 20, 1988 meeting at the request of the attorney representing the licensee.) Charles Bloom, attorney representing the licensee, called Barbara Haas as his first witness. Barbara Haas, bartender for Tony's Restaurant, was sworn and stated she has been employed at Tony's in excess of two years. She stated she has known Ron Robinson for approximately two years as a client of Tony's. She indicated Mr. Robinson has never created problems for the establishment by drinking heavily or creating a disturbance. Ms. Haas stated she usually served Mr. Robinson less than 3 drinks during any particular visit to the establishment. She described Mr. Robinson's appearance and actions on the day he was contacted by Officers Groves and Swihart. She described recent medical problems Mr. Robinson had experienced and the effect those problems had on his physical appearance. She noted Mr. Robinson did not have his teeth in on that evening, causing his speech to be slurred and creating a lisp. Ms. Haas stated Mr. Robinson did not appear to be intoxicated when he entered the establishment. She stated Linda Sardelli was on duty as a cocktail waitress that evening and that Ms. Sardelli did place a drink order for Mr. Robinson. She stated she had never seen Mr. Robinson intoxicated. -3- • August 10, 1988 Linda Sardelli, 1813 Belmar #B-3, was sworn and stated she is currently employed by Western Camera. She stated she worked for Tony's Restaurant for approximately six weeks as a cocktail waitress. She indicated she received formal training in the identification of intoxicated persons during her employment, adding that she believed she was able to identify intoxicated persons. Ms. Sardelli stated she saw Mr. Robinson enter the bar on the evening in question and stated he did not appear intoxicated. She noted Mr. Robinson did not smell of alcohol and his appearance was clean, although he had a 2-3 day growth of beard. Ms. Sardelli stated Mr. Robinson was in the bar approximately 15 minutes before the Police Department entered the establishment and that he had not finished his drink before he was contacted by the police. Officer Swihart cross-examined Ms. Sardelli. Ms. Sardelli indicated she did not observe any problem with the appearance of Mr. Robinson's eyes and that they did not appear to be bloodshot. She stated Mr. Robinson's speech was clear, considering he did not have his teeth in. She added he used good grammar while ordering and was very polite. Officer Swihart testified that Mr. Robinson's blood alcohol content according to the breath test was .163. Officer Swihart noted the test was conducted within approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour. Mr. Bloom cross-examined Officer Swihart. Officer Swihart stated he was satisfied with the testimony that Mr. Robinson received only one drink at the establishment. He stated Mr. Robinson was willing to submit to the blood alcohol test. In response to a question from the Authority, Officer Swihart stated a blood alcohol of .163 is intoxicated. He used a blood alcohol calculator to calculate approximately how many drinks Mr. Robinson would have had to consume to have a blood alcohol of .163. He stated the calculation shows Mr. Robinson had approximately 7.5 drinks within a one -hour period, or 9 drinks during a two-hour period. Antonio Katopodis, license holder, was sworn and stated he has been in business in Fort Collins for 11 years. He stated during that period he has had only one liquor violation. He stated all of his employees are sent to liquor training classes when they are offered, and explained the training given to new employees prior to enrollment in a training class. Mr. Katopodis spoke of Mr. Robinson's patronage at the restaurant. Mr. Bloom summarized his case, stating Mr. Robinson was certainly intoxicated that evening. He suggested that the employees involved have not been aware of Mr. Robinson's history with alcohol -related violations. He stated Mr. Robinson is probably able to consume a large quantity of alcohol and still function reasonably. He cited Mr. Robinson's medical history and compared it to traits exhibited by an intoxicated person. He asked the Authority not to levy a penalty against Tony's Restaurant. -4- • • August 10, 1988 Officer Swihart reiterated the testimony given by Officer Groves and himself. He stated although the employees of the establishment stated Mr. Robinson did not appear intoxicated, the maneuvers and blood alcohol test administered indicated that Mr. Robinson was very intoxicated. He stated Mr. Robinson has had a number of liquor -related driving violations and the continual serving of Mr. Robinson appears to be a hazard to the citizens of Fort Collins. Authority member Garber stated he believed the officers properly pursued the matter. He stated the individuals who served the alcohol and the individual who was intoxicated should be pursued under the criminal provisions of the Liquor Code. He stated he did not believe the license holder permitted his employees to serve alcohol in a negligent manner. He stated he did not believe a violation occurred in this instance. Authority member Gadsby agreed with Authority member Garber that one of the operative words was "permit", noting the other operative word was "visibly" intoxicated. She stated she believed Mr. Robinson was intoxicated, but that it was not clear he was "visibly" intoxicated. Authority member Cooper stated he believed the employees overlooked the signs of intoxication. He stated he would find in favor of a violation. Authority member Poncelow stated the Code also prohibits the sale of liquor to a habitual drunkard. She stated Mr. Robinson possibly falls under that category. Authority member Cooper made a motion, seconded by Authority member Poncelow, to determine that a violation did occur at Tony's Restaurant and Lounge on May 10, 1988. Yeas: Cooper, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: Gadsby and Garber. THE MOTION CARRIED. Authority member Cooper made a motion, seconded by Authority member Poncelow, to levy a one -day suspension to be served within the next 30 business days at the convenience of the owner and that the premises be posted. Yeas: Cooper, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: Gadsby and Garber. THE MOTION CARRIED. Change of Corporate Structure Elizier Leal and Mary Ness identified themselves as the new stockholders and directors of the Ben -Car Corporation. Mr. Ness stated they will be leasing the Carlson who will continue to own the building . -5- • • August 10, 1988 spoke of his involvement in the operation. He stated he was a 20-year veteran of the Fort Collins Police Department and spoke of his familiarity with the liquor laws. He spoke of the training that will be provided to employees of the establishment and extended an invitation to the Police Department to conduct walk-through investigations at the establishment. He noted that the current employees have attended the liquor class sponsored by the Police Department. Mr. Leal stated there were no changes to the current operation planned at this time. He spoke of his experience with the operation of liquor -licensed establishments. He stated there will be three new employees and spoke of the training new employees are given. He described a "red light" system for monitoring the intoxication level of patrons. Authority member Poncelow made a motion, seconded by Authority member Cooper, to approve the change of corporate structure for the Ben -Car Corporation, dba Spring Creek Bar and Grill, 1006 Spring Creek Lane V . Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Special Events Permit (3.2%) for Eyeopeners Kiwanis Club - September 24, 1988 Ron Splittgerber, secretary -treasurer of the Eyeopeners Kiwanis Club, stated this permit is for a second location for the Oktoberfest event held in Oak Street Plaza. He stated this is the second year for an additional location at Old Town Square. He stated off -duty police officers would be hired for security, in addition to the regular Old Town security officers. He stated the event would be managed the same as the Oak Street Plaza location, and spoke of efforts to control liquor in the designated area. Authority member Poncelow made a motion, seconded by Authority member Gadsby, to approve the Special Events Permit (3.2%) for the Eyeopeners Kiwanis Club from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on September 24 at Old Town Square. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. al Events Permit (Liquor) for Maggie Kunze, Executive Director of the Downtown Business Association, stated this is the same event the Authority approved on July 20th. She stated the event has been postponed for one month at the request of the downtown restaurant owners. She briefly described the event and the training that would be provided to persons running the event. She spoke of measures to control liquor being removed from the licensed area. August 10, 1988 Authority member Gadsby made a motion, seconded by Authority member Garber, to approve the Special Events Permit (Liquor) for the Downtown Business Association from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on September 10 at Old Town Square. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Transfer of Ownership Archer's. 3524 South Mason Steve Howard, attorney representing TDMH, Inc., stated Dana Geyer, sole shareholder and president of the corporation, and Tom Goll, manager, were also present. Mr. Howard explained that Mr. Geyer was a creditor of the present license holder. He stated Mr. Geyer has foreclosed for non-payment of the debt, and is seeking transfer of the liquor license to TDMH, Inc. He stated Mr. Goll is presently managing the business and will continue to manage the business for the new licensee. Mr. Howard noted Mr. Goll was at one time a part-owner in the business. (Secretary's Note: Mr. Goll was previously an owner/manager of Archer's and therefore not required to register as the manager. Since Mr. Goll has undergone a recent background investigation, the Authority was advised that Mr. Goll could be approved as manager, contingent upon the submittal of the $75 registration fee.) Dana Geyer, owner, stated he would be directly involved in the management of the business, but not the day-to-day operations. He stated he was aware of previous violations at the establishment. Authority member Garber made a motion, seconded by Authority member Gadsby, to approve the transfer of ownership from Archer's DHT, Inc., to TDMH, Inc., dba Archer's, 3524 South Mason. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Authority member Cooper made a motion, seconded by Authority member Poncelow, to approve Tom Goll as manager of Archer's, 3524 South Mason, contingent upon submittal of the $75 registration fee. Yeas: Cooper, Gadsby, Garber, Poncelow, and Spaulding. Nays: None. THE MOTION CARRIED. Police Report Detective Murray described an alleged violation which occurred at Northern Dining and Bar Bizarre on August 3, 1988, involving after hours consumption. -7-