LICENSES COMMITTEE

City Hall City of Milwaukee 200 East Wells Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 Meeting Minutes LICENSES COMMITTEE ALD. T. ANTHONY ZIELINSKI, CHAIR Ald. Milele A. Coggs, Vice-Chair Ald. Nik Kovac, Ald. Joseph Dudzik, and Ald. Jose Perez Staff Assistant, Linda Elmer, 286-2231 Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov Legislative Liaison, Teodros Medhin, 286-8681, tmedhi@milwaukee.gov Friday, October 18, 2013 9:00 AM City Hall, Room 301-B Special - Amended 10/14/13 (closed session text added) 1. 130767 Motion relating to the recommendations of the Licenses Committee relative to licenses. Sponsors: THE CHAIR PATTON, SR, Michael J, Agent for "3M Entertainment, LLC", Class B Tavern License Renewal Application Reducing Age Restriction from 25 to 23 and Public Entertainment Premises Adding Instrumental Musicians, Bands, DJs, Magic Shows, Wrestling, Patron Contests, and Dropping 1 Pool Table as agent for "The White House" at 3000 S 13th St. (Expires 11/7/2013) Meeting convened: 9:29 A.M. Atty. Nick DeSiato - for the city Captain Diane Rowe - 6th police district Atty. Vincent Bobot for the licensee Atty. Bobot objects to the reading of the police report relating to the alleged sexual assault by Michael Patton, Jr. He also objects to notice for item #24 dated 9/14/13. Officer Raymond Hewett testified as to service of item #24 - he served Mr. Patton, Sr. with a copy of the tavern report by Mr. Patton, Sr.'s partner, Mr. Maurice King, on September 25, 2013. He also monitors the taverns and has noted that the Club has played music that is not on its license and the state also confiscated alcohol at this establishment. Officer Christopher Jackson issued the citation to Michael Patton, Jr. on September 24, 2013. Captain Diane Rowe - the establishment has 15 police incidents in its first year of operation. This is not the worst tavern in the city, but it has become a nuisance property. It was designated a nuisance property within 66 days of operation. The 6th district spends an inordinate amount of time at this establishment and has had approximately 120 CAD calls at this tavern. The club is in a largely residential neighborhood, with a small parking lot for the size of the establishment. Before the tavern opened, it said it would have 16 cameras, 25-age restriction and no loud music. It has had illegal live music. Atty. Bobot argued that no problem patrons City of Milwaukee Page 1 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 have been cited, there have been no shots fired, nor has anyone been injured in the establishment Officer Christopher Jackson - On January 1st a patron was arrested for vandalism and the police also responded to a fight between 50-100 people. He did a tavern check on Sept. 14 and Mr. Patton, Jr. was issued a citation for loud music. Officer Michael Crone - he responded to a fight at the establishment on December 13, 2012. About 8 squads responded. He has responded on other dates and found an underage patron, street parking issues, and a fight, Detective Kevin Armbruster - dealt with the alleged sexual assault by Michael Patton, Jr., a co-owner of the establishment. Mr. Patton, Jr. said that the sex was consensual. The victim's statement was that she was allowed to stay in the bar while the cleaning crew worked. The alleged assault occurred in the establishment after hours with Mr.Patton, Jr. and an employee. Objectors: John Kavacinzki -3019 S. 13th St., Apt. A - the establiishment had its lights on and appeared to be open on the weekdays, he can also hear music from the bar on 14th Street, he also sees litter relating to the establishment's patrons. They've only been open on the weekends for a couple of months. Matt Fletcher - 3016 S. 12th St. - concurs about the garbage and noise, public urination, he heard 5 gunshots last weeekend and called 9-1-1. Supporter: George Willis - 8262 W. Daphne - head of security at The White House, which defuses escalating situations by putting patrons outside and stays with those patrons. He has been in security for 15 years. Per Atty. Stephens, the Committee cannot consider the pending underage citations in items 17 and 20 (although the disorderly patrons aspect could be considered). Ald. Dudzik moves for revocation based on items 10-24 in the police report (excluding 25 and the underage items in #17 and #20) based on the pollice report, police testimony and neighborhood testimony. He also moved for denial of the requested change in the license. There were no objections. Recess: 11:45 A.M. A motion was made by ALD. DUDZIK that this Motion be AMENDED. This motion PREVAILED by the following vote: Aye 5- Zielinski, Coggs, Kovac, Dudzik and Perez No 0 10:00 A.M. 2. 130710 Substitute motion suspending for 90 days the Class "B" Tavern and Public Entertainment Premises licenses of Habib Manjee, agent for Lady Bug Club, LLC for the premises at 622 North Water Street doing business as "Club 618 Live on Water" in the 4th aldermanic district. City of Milwaukee Page 2 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 Sponsors: THE CHAIR Reconvene: 12:27 P.M. Individuls present: Atty. Marc Christopher for the Lisa Farrell and Thomas Wilson, complainants Habib Manjee, licensee Atty. Michael Rud and David Halbrooks for the licensee Nicholas Morato - 610 N Water St. Ald. Robert Bauman - local alderman Atty. Halbrooks objected to the chair's cancelling a subpoena for Captain James Harpole. The City Attorney noted that the attorney is free to call anyone to have them come and testify. Supporters of revocation: Captain Steve Basting - in a little over a month there were 2 shooting incidents and one shots fired. His greatest fear was a shooting downtown because of the fear of downtown that it would spread. He tries to work with establishments to correct problems, rather than issue citations. The licensee was going to move speakers and add insulation to mitigate the noise complaints coming from the Hilton Hotel. The previous year there hadn't been issues with the tavern, which had made changes requested by the Captain in the past. Despite the cooperation of the licensee and the police department involvement, the disorder continues and seems to be getting worse. He is also concerned about the activities occurring near the hotel entrance. Atty. Halbrooks objected to mention of the police report, arguing that those are not part of the record. Captain Aaron Michael Rapp - based upon briefings from the district officers. Officer Paul Bjorkist - testified as to the shooting that occurred in the parking lot and the club's use of ID scanners in identifying the shooters. A video was shown of the shooting in the parking lot on June 2nd, 2013. Officer Jeff Klein - seldom assigned to 618, but were assigned there on July 12th where he saw a fight just south of 618. Officers could not break up the fight or disperse the crowd. The fight occurred just over a minute. One subject was detained, who was released once he calmed down. Some minutes later the security at 618 started letting people leave the premise. He heard gunshots and people were saying "white van" and the van was stopped. Officer Eric Fjeld - he was also present at the fight/shooting on July 12th conducting traffic control a block away. The Lady Bug security staff said that the people ejected from the club were involved in the fight. Officer Christopher Martin - heard 4 shots being fired and ran to the location and saw four individuals carrying a fifth man who had been shot. He didn't know if the shooter or the victim had been at 618 - the men had been downtown to meet women because they knew the club was having a large event that evening. Officer Adam Bradley - Officer Martin and he were partners that evening. Later investigation showed that the victim had been shot in front of the hotel. It was later discovered a building window had been shot out at 610 N. Broadway City of Milwaukee Page 3 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 Make 2 pictures of business with shot-out window part of the record, by Ald. Kovac. Prevailed. 5-0 (Exhibit 1) Lisa Farrell - 611 N. Broadway - general manager of the Hilton Garden Hotel. The concerns were that employees and guests didn't feel safe, what they and their children saw outside their windows, and loud music. Because of the shootings, guests have mentioned their safety concerns to her and the social media coverage has had a negative impact on the hotel. Atty. Halbrooks argues that Ms. Farrell is not a city resident and therefore not able to file a complaint; that will be adjudicated in court. The Committee will disregard the testimony of Ald. Coggs relating to her looking at Trip Advisor. Atty. Halbrooks moved to strike Ms. Farrell's testimony as she is not a city resident as she stated as part of the record. Kanitra Murphy - 2928 W. Wells, Apt 203 - employee of the Hilton Garden Hotel as a night auditor. During the week days there are few complaints, but on weekends (Friday-Saturday) she gets noise complaints from guests on the back side of the hotel. The complaints have decreased, but she is is still getting complaints about club music. She could feel the bass from the music by putting her hand on a guest room window. She also observes cruising at closing time of Lady Bug and believes patrons of this club also block traffic. Montral Wilder - 2459 N. Gordon Pl - security at Hilton Gardens hotel who works Thursday-Saturday nights investigating primarily noise complaints relating to music or people yelling. A lot of times the noise is coming from the club or from vehicles being driven by or from people going to/from the club. He is not armed and needs to call his supervisor or the police if his actions do not stop the problem. Doniellel Barry - 5078 N. 22nd St. - works Thursday-Saturday nights as security at the Hilton. He observes a lot of heavy traffic and people stopping/partying in the street. He stops the public from coming into the hotel who are not guests. He worked the night of July 4th/morning of July 5th when the man was shot and he worked to make sure guests knew that they were safe, but no-one was allowed to enter or exit. Rachel Foreman - works at the Grand Avenue Club at 210 E. Michigan St. - concerned about the violence as it is hard to convince their clientele that it is safe to come down to their programs in the evening. John Halverson -operations manager for the Grain Exchange - because of the street traffic they close their front doors at 9 p.m. and employees leave with at least one other person, rather than alone. He sees broken bottles, drunk individuals, public urination and illegal parking. Brian Ward - 622 N. Broadway - he has had to be escorted past police lines because of the shooting on July 4th. On July 12th or 13th there was a lot of cars in the street and a shot was fired a few feet from them. This was the shooting previously mentioned involving the white van. Thomas Wilson - 400 N. Broadway, #311 - one of the complainants testified as to his feelings of personal safety. Beth Weireck - Executive Director of downtown business district - still experiencing problems despite all the district's work. Recess: 4:30 P.M. Reconvene: 4:43 P.M City of Milwaukee Page 4 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 Ald. Coggs moves to temporarily hold this file. Witnesses called by the licensee's attorney, David Halbrooks: Officer Tom Boland - spends 1.5-2 hours at 618 in a typical shift. Security at the establishment escorts the crowds out and to the parking lots and does a good job at closing. The establishment has a staggered closing time with another bar, which works well. He did not see the July 4th or July 12th incidents. He does not take a position on the revocation. Sgt. Scott Charles - the bar does an excellent job at closing and does a good job screening at the door with checking IDs and wanding people. He only hears muffled music in the alley. He thinks that it's just a few bad people ruining it for everyone else. There are other factors that affect the street traffic - some nights are vey quiet. Ald. Bauman was subpoenaed and is at the table. He does not have the requested copies. The investigator has video of Ms. Farrell at her New Berlin home. Atty. Halbrooks would like to have them added to the record so they can be used by the court in the future. Lisa Stinebocker, Legal Investigation, LLC, conducted surveillance at Ms. Farrell's husband's home in New Berin. Ald. Perez moved to make the disk part of the record. There were no objections (Exhibit 2) Atty. Halbrooks presented video (played at the hearing) explaining all the noise-muffling steps the club has taken. Make disk provided part of the record, by Ald. Coggs (Exhibit 3). There were no objections. Mr. Morato went through the procedures that the bar goes through for security, litter, and general management of the establishment. Make 12 total photo and documents provided by Mr. Morato part of the record, by Ald. Perez. There were no objections. (Exhibit 4) Make 4 photos of the public service done by the bar part of the record, by Ald. Dudzik. There were no objections (Exhibit 5) For the July 5th fight, those were not patrons of the club - they were underage. On July 12th, the individual may have been a patron, but the club did pat him down and were pro-active in assisting the police. Recess: 5:55 P.M. Reconvene: 6:10 P.M. Michael Kenny- 3116 E. Grange, Cudahy - regional manager for CPS Standard Parking, manages 2 parking lots in the area. He has armed security at some of his parking lots, security guards at some of the lots, but not all of them. The armed guards are to ensure that people are paying for parking and to protect the property and the customers on the lot. The night of the shooting the guard was at another lot because there was no wedding scheduled that evening and would not have seen what was taking place. If 618 was not in operation, he is 85% sure he wouldn't have a guard at this lot. Myles O'Neill - 245 N. Broadway - co-owner of The Wicked Hop - he hasn't been aware of any problems from 618 patrons. Wicked Hop is about 3 blocks from 618. City of Milwaukee Page 5 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 His customers feel safe in the neighborhood. Homer Blow - 2003 W. Capitol Dr. - with WNOV Radio - he has done some work at the club and has observed its security measures, which are very tight. He has been paid by the club at times as an independent contractor. Sheik Mohammed Nazar - 8055 S. 20th St. - feels the facility should remain open and is well run Zolli Jonakin - 3406 N. 11th St. - in charge of pat downs at the estabishment Torey Lowe - well-run establishment Anwar Jenkins - 4597 N. Houston Ave. - Running Rebels - he runs a good operation. Ald. Dudzik recused himself at 7 p.m. because he fears that Mr. Morato is polling the audience for names of potential speakers. Atty. Halbrooks assured the chair that the individual's name was on the list, but he was confirming the correct pronunciation. Ald. Zielinski allowed testimony to continue. Atty. Halbrooks made a list of witnesses present since 10 a.m. to testify. Make this list part of the record, by Ald. Coggs. There were no objections. (Exhibit 6) Cedric Peoples - 5679 N. Bethlehem Andre Lewis - 1619 W. Good Hope Rd., Glendale - part-time employee of the club Bonnie Taylor - 2118 N. 27th St. - twice-a-week customer of the club, a very safe club. Ald. Kovac moved for 30-day suspension based on neighborhood testimony, police report and police testimony. Prevailed. 4-0 (Ald. Dudzik recused) Total hearing time was 6.5 hours. Adjourned: P.M. Linda M. Elmer Staff Assistant A motion was made by ALD. KOVAC that this Motion be SUBSTITUTED. This motion PREVAILED by the following vote: Aye 4- Zielinski, Coggs, Kovac and Perez No 0 Abstain 1- Dudzik 130710 Substitute motion suspending for 90 days the Class "B" Tavern and Public Entertainment Premises licenses of Habib Manjee, agent for Lady Bug Club, LLC for the premises at 622 North Water Street doing business as "Club 618 Live on Water" in the 4th aldermanic district. Sponsors: THE CHAIR A motion was made by ALD. KOVAC that this Motion be RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL. This motion PREVAILED by the following vote: City of Milwaukee Page 6 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 Aye 4- Zielinski, Coggs, Kovac and Perez No 0 Abstain 1- Dudzik 1:30 P.M. 3. 130767 Motion relating to the recommendations of the Licenses Committee relative to licenses. Sponsors: THE CHAIR This matter will be rescheduled due to the delay in the hearing. Atty. Michael Whitcomb and licensee present. This matter will be rescheduled as soon as possible and be first on the agenda. Ald. Kovac moves to hold to the call of the chair. There were no objections. A motion was made by ALD. COGGS that this Motion be HELD TO CALL OF THE CHAIR. This motion PREVAILED by the following vote: Aye 5- Zielinski, Coggs, Kovac, Dudzik and Perez No 0 The Licenses Committee may convene into closed session, pursuant to s. 19.85(1)(g), Wis. Stats., for the purpose of conferring with the City Attorney who will render oral or written advice with respect to litigation in which the city is or is likely to become involved. This meeting will be webcast live at www.milwaukee.gov/channel25. Common Council members who are not members of this committee may attend this meeting to participate or to gather information. This meeting may constitute a meeting of the Common Council or any of its standing committees although no formal action will be taken at this meeting. Upon reasonable notice, efforts will be made to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities through sign language interpreters or auxiliary aids. For assistance contact the Legislative Services ADA Coordinator at 286-2998, (FAX)286-3456, (TDD)286-2025 or by writing to Room 205, City Hall, 200 E. Wells Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202. City of Milwaukee Page 7 LICENSES COMMITTEE Meeting Minutes October 18, 2013 Parking for persons attending City Hall meetings is available at reduced rates (5 hour limit) at the Milwaukee Center (southwest corner of E. Kilbourn Ave. and N. Water St.) Parking tickets must be validated in Room 205, (City Clerk's Office) or the first floor Information Booth in City Hall. Persons engaged in lobbying as defined in s. 305-43-4 of the Milwaukee Code are required to register with the City Clerk's License Division. Lobbyists appearing before a Common Council committee are required to identify themselves as such. More information is available at www.milwaukee.gov/lobby. City of Milwaukee Page 8