City Council

Regular Meeting

DeKalb, IL · April 25, 2016

Minutes

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE APRIL 25, 2016 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois, held a Committee of the Whole meeting on April 25, 2016 in the City Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Rey called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. A. ROLL CALL City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson called the roll, and the following members of the City Council were present: Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Michael Marquardt, Alderman Bob Snow, Alderman Kate Noreiko, Alderman Tony Faivre and Mayor John Rey. Absent: Alderman David Jacobson. Alderman Dave Baker arrived at 5:08 p.m. Also present were: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, City Attorney Dean Frieders, Finance Director Cathy Haley, Deputy Police Chief John Petragallo, Fire Chief Eric Hicks, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, and City Clerk Jennifer Jeep Johnson. B. ITEMS ALSO ON THE REGULAR AGENDA There were none. C. CONSIDERATIONS 1. Liquor Code Updates. City Attorney Frieders briefly explained the following parts of the City’s liquor code, and made recommendations: 1) Basset and TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures): The code has been updated recently to include TIPS, to ensure that where there is service of alcohol, it is done in a responsible fashion. Major aims of the training include prevention of over serving, and underage service. He explained that the City hopes to transition to TIPS from Basset. 2) Transition from owner certification, to servers and managers: Attorney Frieders explained that the requirement for owner certification does not make as much sense, given there is no requirement that the owner be on the premises. He made the recommendation that the TIPS certification be held by servers and managers. Committee of the Whole Minutes April 25, 2016 Page 2 of 3 3) Happy Hours: Attorney Frieders recommended that unlimited eating and drinking packages be allowed only by those establishments who hold hospitality licenses, citing concerns with trying to have such events within greater establishments, without dedicated areas. 4) Happy Hour Drink Discounts: Staff recommended allowing State Law to control. 5) Age Restrictions: Access of underage people into bars (those without food requirements): Per Council’s request, staff researched how other college towns regulate this matter, and are still formulating a recommendation at this time. Alderman Snow inquired as to when the TIPS training requirement will go into effect. Attorney Frieders responded that the City will work with licensees to establish a timeframe for updating their training. Alderman Marquardt inquired as to what constitutes a “server,” thereby triggering the TIPS requirement, with Attorney Frieders explaining that the code defines what an alcohol server is, and it could be anyone responsible for serving alcohol, checking IDs, etc. Mayor Rey stated that Council is satisfied with the information as presented, and to move forward with the recommendations. D. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There was none. E. RECESS FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION OF THE CITY COUNCIL Mayor Rey read the following by title only: 1. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss Personnel as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). 2. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss Pending or Imminent Litigation as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11). MOTION Alderman Finucane moved to hold an Executive Session; seconded by Alderman Marquardt. VOTE Motion carried on a 7-0-1 roll call vote. Aye: Finucane, Marquardt, Snow, Noreiko, Baker, Faivre, Rey. Absent: Jacobson. Mayor Rey declared the motion passed. Committee of the Whole Minutes April 25, 2016 Page 3 of 3 Mayor Rey closed the meeting to the Public at 5:10 p.m. Alderman Jacobson arrived to the Executive Session meeting at 5:42 p.m. Mayor Rey opened the meeting to the Pubic at 6:00 p.m. F. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Alderman Jacobson moved to conclude the Committee of the Whole; seconded by Alderman Faivre. VOTE Motion carried on an 8-0 voice vote. Aye: Jacobson, Finucane, Marquardt, Snow, Noreiko, Baker, Faivre, Rey. Mayor Rey declared the motion passed, and concluded the Committee of the Whole meeting at 6:00 p.m. _____________________________________ JENNIFER JEEP JOHNSON, City Clerk Approved by City Council: May 23, 2016.

Agenda

AGENDA Committee of the Whole Meeting April 25, 2016 5:00 p.m. A. Roll Call B. Items Also on the Regular Agenda C. Considerations 1. Liquor Code Updates. D. Public Participation E. Recess for Executive Session of the City Council 1. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss Personnel as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1). 2. Approval to Hold an Executive Session to Discuss Pending or Imminent Litigation as Provided for in 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(11). F. Adjournment Assistive services available upon request. C-1 April 25, 2016 DATE: April 20, 2016 TO: Honorable Mayor John Rey City Council FROM: Anne Marie Gaura, City Manager Gene Lowery, Chief of Police Ellen Divita, Community Development Director Dean Frieders, City Attorney SUBJECT: Liquor Code Updates. I. Summary The State of Illinois has passed certain updates to state law pertaining to the Illinois Liquor Control Act, and based upon those updates, discussion related to several portions of the City’s Code is sought. II. Background The City permits the sale of alcoholic beverages within the corporate limits of the City pursuant to various classifications of liquor licenses contemplating package sales, sales for consumption on-premises, or a combination thereof. In 2012, the City undertook a complete revision to its liquor control ordinances, to simplify the ordinances, reduce the number of different license classifications and eliminate unnecessary duplication of state law. The State has recently passed updates to the Illinois Liquor Control Act, several of which impact upon local liquor sales. For that reason, policy discussion of some of the implications of the Code is recommended. The discrete issues at hand are discussed below. If Council has other policy considerations, they may also be discussed at Council’s convenience. 1) BASSET/TIPS Training: State law now includes more explicit requirements that all licensees in the State undergo “BASSET” training by a qualified, licensed trainer. BASSET training relates to proper liquor sales practices, such as detecting and deterring underaged purchase/consumption of alcohol, understanding liquor liability and similar issues. The City has considered this matter extensively and recommends that the City Code require licensees to complete “TIPS” training. TIPS training is BASSET certified, but includes more detail and more comprehensive information for licensees. TIPS training can be completed by City personnel (the City has certified trainers in the Police Department) or by qualified third parties. It is recommended that portions of the City Code contemplating BASSET training be revised to reference TIPS training. Some licensees have requested that the City permit training C-1 April 25, 2016 to be conducted online. At this time, the City has concerns regarding the completeness and effectiveness of online training, and also concerns regarding verification that training has been completed on a per-person basis as required, and staff does not support the concept of online training. 2) Happy Hours / Dedicated Events Space, Meal Packages, Party Packages: State Happy Hour laws have been revised to contemplate some less stringent standards for “happy hour” or ‘unlimited alcohol’ events. In short, the changes contemplate that a licensee can create a “dedicated events space” by cordoning off an area with furniture or ropes, and within that area can sell wristbands to permit unlimited consumption of alcoholic beverages. For example, a bar could cordon off a portion of their dance floor with ropes and couches, and deem that area to be a “dedicated events space.” Current City codes contemplate a requirement that licensees have a hospitality liquor license to engage in this sort of “private party” setup, and that the dedicated events space be separated by an immovable physical separation, such as a wall. It is recommended to add more detailed language to City Codes to clarify that the State provisions relating to these dedicated events spaces, meal packages and party packages are not permitted within the relatively loose confines now contemplated by State law. The reason for this recommendation is to ensure that any event that has the potential to have ‘unlimited alcohol’ or an open bar be more closely regulated. Allowing separation by just a rope or couch presents a significant potential for abuse or for expansion of a private event outside of the ticketed or intended attendance. 3) Happy Hours / Entertainment Packages: State Happy Hour laws have also been revised to indicate that on a ‘game day’ where there is a sporting event in an adjacent stadium, a liquor licensee can have “entertainment packages” which permit unlimited consumption of alcoholic beverages on-premises during the sporting event and for the two hours before and one hour after. As with the language above regarding meal and party packages, it is recommended that the City Code be updated to reflect that these sorts of events are only permitted for Hospitality liquor licensees who have a dedicated, physically separated events space. 4) Happy Hour Drink Discounts: State law provisions relating to happy hours have been relaxed in their approach to happy hour promotions, and now permit happy hours for up to four hours per day / 15 hours per week, provided that they end by 10:00 pm on any given day and are posted on the licensee’s website with fixed prices. The City formerly included specific happy hour regulations in the City Liquor Code that mirrored State law. Those were eliminated in 2012 as being duplicative of the State code. With this most recent State law revision, happy hours are again permitted in the State. At this point, staff does not have a reason to recommend against permitting the happy hours in accordance with State law, and would not recommend an update to prohibit these activities. Page |2 C-1 April 25, 2016 5) Persons Under 21 in Bars: Under current City Code, persons under 21 are prohibited from entering into establishments with Bar liquor licenses, unless with their parent or legal guardian. At the request of Council, staff has reviewed the regulations applicable in comparable university communities. Minimum age requirements for bars are as follows: Macomb: 20 or older. Champaign: Champaign maintains three types of bar licenses: one license permits persons 19 and older to enter at any time; the second permits those 19 and older to enter only before 9 pm; and the third is always age restricted to those 21 and older. In bar areas of restaurants, the age restriction is always 19 or older. Carbondale: 19 or older. Edwardsville: Does not maintain a minimum age restriction for bars. Urbana: 18 or older. Bloomington: 21 or older. Normal: Does not maintain a minimum age restriction for bars. This inquiry (minimum age limits) was initiated by Council. Staff has undertaken contact with law enforcement agencies in other communities that have adopted a variety of approaches to this issue. Based upon that investigation, the preliminary staff recommendation would be to not recommend modification of the City’s current policy of requiring person to be 21 or older in order to enter bars within the City. However, staff will conduct outreach activities with the student population of the University in order to secure additional information and feedback. III. Community Groups/Interested Parties Contacted These recommendations are being brought forth to Council for consideration at a Committee of the Whole meeting and for discussion on policy issues inclusive of the process that Council wishes to utilize to address these changes in State law. Based on Council direction, staff can undertake such public outreach efforts as the Council may direct. IV. Legal Impact The City has the legal authority to adopt revisions to its Liquor Code as directed by Council. V. Financial Impact No financial impact is anticipated at this time. Page |3 C-1 April 25, 2016 VI. Options Council may provide feedback and direction on the items listed above, or may describe a process that it wishes to utilize to solicit further public response. VII. Recommendation It is recommended to discuss the issues enumerated above and provide policy direction to staff. Page |4 Return to Agenda