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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003 09-08 City Council Special Meeting PacketAGENDA SPECIAL MEETING MAPLEWOOD CITY COUNCIL 6:00 P.M. Monday, September 8, 2003 Council Chambers, Municipal Building Meeting No. 03 -20 A. CALL TO ORDER B. ROLL CALL C. APPROVAL OF AGENDA D. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6:00 p.m. 2:00 a.m. Bar Closing E. ADJOURNMENT Sign languagc intcrprctcrs for hcaring impaircd persons arc availablc for public hcarings upon rcqucst. The rcqucst for this scrvicc must be madc at lcast 96 hours in advancc. Plcasc call the City Clcrk's Otiicc at (651) 249 -2001 to makc arrangcmcnts. Assistcd Listcning Dcviccs arc also availablc. Plcasc chcck with the City Clcrk for availability. RULES OF CIVILITYFOR OUR COMMUNITY Following are some rules ofcivility the Citv of Maplewood expects ofevervone appearing at Council Meetings - elected officials, staff and citizens. It is hoped that by following these simple rules, evervone's opinions can be heard and understood in a reasonable manner. We appreciatethefactthatwhenappearingatCouncilmeetings, itisunderstoodthatevervonewillfollowtheseprinciples: Show respectfor each other, actively listen to one another, keep emotions in check and use respectful language. Agenda # D1 MEMORDANDUM To: City Manager Richard Fursman From: City Clerk Karen Guilfoile Date: August 30, 2003 Re: 2:00 a.m. Bar Closing Consideration Introduction The purpose of the public hearing is the consideration of a code amendment allowing the 2:00 a.m. bar closing. The public hearing was properly published and posted. All intoxicating liquor license holders were notified of the public hearing by certified mail. Background In preparation of the public hearing, a survey was conducted (Attachment A) by mail to gather information to assist Council in this consideration. The City has 25 license holders. The survey revealed the following: Of the 25 holders, there were 24 that responded. A response was not received from Keller Clubhouse. Of the 24 responses, there were 14 that indicated no interest in the 2:00 a.m. closing. Ten responded yes. Of the 10, Michael Gengler, (Gulden's) indicated that he would rather not stay open but would to remain competitive. Of the 10 establishments indicating yes to the 2:00 a.m. closing eight most stated that they would want to stay open Thursday - Saturday nights. Michael Ogren, (The Rock) would consider staying open seven nights a week and Michael Gengler, (Gulden's) stated possibly Tuesday— Saturday. When asked what impact it would have on their businesses if the 2:00 a.m. closing is not approved, seven establishments indicated a probable loss of business to surrounding communities that allow the 2:00 a.m. closing. Five of these indicated that they had already seen a decline in business specifically on Friday and Saturday nights. Three establishment's indicated that while they have not seen a significant loss of business to date, that they expect declining business as more surrounding areas permit the 2:00 a.m. closing and as the public becomes more aware of the change. Nine of the 24 responses stated that if the 2:00 a.m. closing is approved by Council, they would be willing to pay an increase in their license fee to the City to cover local administrative and public safety costs. Asked for additional comments, ten license holders responded they wanted the 2:00 a.m. closing due to concerns of loss of business and an inability to remain competitive. Concerns were also relayed that as the 2:00 a.m. closing becomes more widespread, bar patrons may choose to go to other establishments that will be open until 2:00 a.m. increasing local loss of revenue and furthering decline in business. This could have an impact not only on the business level but on those license holders that own their property and have expressed concerns of enough loss of business that they may be forced to sell. Nineteen of the licensed establishments are franchises or businesses that operate in rental or leased property. Six license holders own and operate their business. Of the 10 that indicated a desire to be open until 2:00 a.m. five own and operate their own businesses. As of Friday, August 29 aside from the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 28 cities in the seven county metro area have applied to the State and received their permit to operate until 2:00 a.m. (Attachment B.) Council Consideration There are several options for consideration including: Deny amendment to the code allowing the 2:00 a.m. closing. Amending the code to allow for a 2:00 a.m. closing. Limit the 2:00 a.m. closing to specific days of the week, i.e. Thursday — Saturday. Pass the 2:00 a.m. code amendment for a period of time (6 months to a year) and then revisit the change to review the impact on businesses and public safety. Establishments would be required to inform the City of the nights they will be opened until 2:00 a.m. and a fee would be imposed accordingly. Closing Comments If Council approves the 2:00 a.m. closing, staff would be requested to determine an appropriate fee based on cost of implementation and monitoring and bring to Council for approval. After approval, the code amendment would be published and implemented by those establishments choosing to do so. Attachment A City of Maplewood Intoxicating Liquor License Holders 2:00 A.M. Bar Closing Consideration Survey Name of Restaurant /Bar: 1. Would you like to have the option of being open until 2:00 a.m.? If, yes please give a specific reason why you would like to be open until 2:00 a.m. 2. If the City Council approves the 2:00 a.m. bar closing, what nights would you stay open until 2:00 a.m.? 3. What impact will it have on your business if the city council does not approve the 2:00 a.m. closing? 4. Would you be willing to pay an increase to the City of Maplewood for your liquor license fee to stay open? 5. Additional Comments: Attachment B As of Friday, August 29 aside from the Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 28 cities in the seven county metro area have applied to the State and received their license to operate until 2:00 a.m. Arden Hills Bayport Bloomington Brooklyn Park Centerville Cottage Grove Crystal Eagan Eden Prairie Hopkins Hugo Inver Grove Heights Lakeville Lilydale Mahtomedi Minnetonka Mounds View New Brighton Osseo Plymouth Richfield Rosemont Roseville Shakopee South St. Paul Stillwater West St. Paul White Bear Lake Memo To: Richard Fursman, City Manager From: David Thomalla, Chief of Police Date: 9/3/2003 Re: Proposed Bar Closing Extension Agenda Item D1 In examining the issues related to extending the bar closing time to 2 a.m., I feel this may impact the City financially and from a public safety standpoint. Although at first glance, it would appear we could deal with the extended closing time by adjusting our patrol shifts to provide additional staffing during peak hours. The call -load, however will not be shifted; it will be extended. This will create a period an hour longer into the night where staffing will need to be maximized. This hour will not decrease the call -load earlier in the day. Simply shifting staffing will not be the solution and additional staffing may be required. By shifting start and end times for shifts, we would, in essence, be assigning 2/3 of our patrol division to some form of a midnight shift. This inhibits officers' ability to interact with a majority of the community. This goes against the community policing philosophy and one of the goals of the Department's 10 -hour schedule. The goal of the Police Department is to provide a safe community for all members of the community. Adjusting shift times would reduce the number of officers on the street when children go to school in the morning and when rush -hour traffic is at its peak. The state was provided incentives for changing this law by funding the hiring of additional State Troopers. Local law enforcement will continue to see the same levels of DWI arrests and will have to respond to assaults and disturbances at bars later into the night. The State Troopers will not handle these calls. The Maplewood Police Department will. We are not seeing bar patrons leaving Maplewood bars, going to communities that have a later closing time, and then returning to retrieve their vehicles. The City will be required to provide additional law enforcement service one extra hour each day. Recovering the costs of this additional service should be considered. Some of our larger liquor establishments create a significant number of calls for service. It is difficult to determine the exact number of calls the City's three largest clubs generate since they are all located in strip malls with a common address. In examining the calls for service in 2002 from the three strip malls where the bars are located, 226 calls for service were generated in these strip malls between the hours of 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. During this period, few other businesses are open in the strip malls. The highest call -load period for all three is between midnight and 2 a.m. (142 calls). With the exception of one, the 1a.m. to 2 a.m. period is the highest (78 total calls). I am suggesting this busy hour will move ahead to 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. If 78 calls for service are added to the 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. time period, this would represent a 5% increase of the City's total calls for service during this hour. To increase staffing by 5% during this hour would cost $12,500 per year. A large number of calls at bars require a response of more than one officer. To cover these calls with officers on overtime would cost between $6056 and $12,111. In speaking with other suburban police departments where the bar closing time has been extended, they have had to make little adjustment for call load, however, there is no fair comparison to the bar traffic in Maplewood. Maplewood has more nightclubs than any other suburban community. A review of the list of establishments that have extended their closing time shows, 32 communities in the 7- county metro area have extended the closing time. With these issues in mind, the City needs to consider the impact that an extended bar closing will have on the cost of public safety services. City of Maplewood Official Sign -Up Sheet By putting your name and address on this sheet, you are requesting to address the Maplewood City Council on the following topic for up to five `ninutes. Name (first &last) - please print Address pi C) H, 3. I;rll Ot - 4 �/ V 4. fro?", 5. 6. 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