Alcohol Control Commission

ALCOHOL CONTROL COMMISSION Monday, February 17, 2020 The Alcohol Control Commission met at 5:00 p.m. this date in the City Commission Chambers of City Hall, 601 Broad Street. Monica Sheppard, Chair, was present along with Collin Doss, John Kendrick, Harold Morgan, and Commissioner Davis. Steve VanMeter was absent. Assistant City Attorney Stephen Moseley was also present. Minutes – January 21, 2020 The minutes of the January 21, 2020 meeting, as submitted in writing by the Secretary, were approved by unanimous consent. John Henry’s Grill, 233 Broad Street The application of Eric Tant, owner and manager of John Henry’s Grill, 233 Broad Street, was presented. Mr. Tant requested that a new Beer, Wine, and Liquor Pouring License be issued to him at that location. Mr. Tant was present and explained that he will begin operating this new business at the former location of Johnny’s New York Pizza. Mr. Tant hopes to be in operation by the end of March 2020. Secretary Smith explained that this location does qualify for an alcohol pouring license and that Mr. Tant qualifies to hold that license. Mr. Tant explained that he will use both the “Serve Save” and the “Tips” alcohol training process for all of his employees. His plans are to have between 30 and 35 employees and be open for lunch all week and for dinner, Thursday through Saturday. All employees will be required to check IDs for all alcohol sales. Mr. Doss moved to approve the request for a new Beer, Wine, and Liquor Pouring License for John Henry’s Grill, 233 Broad Street, as requested. Mr. Morgan seconded, and the vote was unanimously in favor. Coosa Food and Beverage, 2560 Shorter Avenue The application of Ms. Budhi Chhetri, owner and manager of Coosa Food and Beverage, 2560 Shorter Avenue, was presented. Ms. Chhetri requested that a new Beer Package License be issued to her at that location. Ms. Chhetri was present along with her local registered agent, Ms. Ardrey Davenport. Ms. Chhetri did not seem to speak much English, and Ms. Davenport answered most of the ACC’s questions. Coosa Food and Beverage plans to have a cash register system that requires the entry of a date of birth when an alcohol sale can be made. They also indicated they will have gaming machines at this location. 1 Mr. Doss moved to approve the request for a new Beer Package License at this location, subject to all final inspections and approvals by the appropriate City officials. Mr. Kendrick seconded, and the vote was unanimously in favor. Alcohol Serving Permit - Appeal Ms. Kelly Head, 302 Cooper Street, appeared today to appeal for an Alcohol Serving Permit. Ms. Head has been denied an Alcohol Serving Permit by the Rome Police Department due to her felony convictions. Secretary Smith read a memo from Rome Police Officer John Giles regarding Ms. Head’s background investigation. Mr. Giles reports that Ms. Head has been convicted of five felonies within the past three years (the City Code prohibits the issuing of an Alcohol Serving Permit for anyone who has been convicted of a felony within the last three years, and if the felony involves violence, there is a ten year prohibition). Ms. Head’s convictions are as follows: September 19, 2017 1) Obtain, procure, give inmate prohibited item without consent 2) Purchase, manufacture, distribute, or sell marijuana 3) Possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute July 17, 2018 1) Felony purchase, possession, manufacture, distribution, or sell of marijuana January 8, 2018 1) Felony burglary, second degree Present today with Ms. Head was Mendy, who represents the Beer Barrell, 724 Kingston Avenue, in Rome. Ms. Mendy is the fiancé of the Beer Barrell Licensee Maxie Rayburn. Ms. Mindy stated that Kelly Head has been working at the Beer Barrell on her temporary City of Rome Alcohol Serving Permit for the past four weeks, waiting her appeal before the Alcohol Control Commission. Ms. Mindy spoke very highly of Ms. Head stating that she has been a great employee and has become like family at the Beer Barrell. Ms. Mindy would like for the City of Rome to grant Ms. Head a permanent Alcohol Serving Permit and allow her to work at the Beer Barrell. Ms. Head stated that she will be on probation until 2022 and has been out of jail for the past seven months. Ms. Houser is her probation officer. After a discussion by the Alcohol Control Commission members, Mr. Kendrick moved to approve Ms. Head’s appeal and grant her the Alcohol Serving Permit. Mr. Kendrick’s motion died for lack of a second. 2 There was more discussion by the Alcohol Control Commission members with some feeling that, if Ms. Head is granted her permit, then the City of Rome should just eliminate background investigations since they would not serve any purpose if someone is granted a permit regardless of the number or type of felony convictions. The ACC members also stated that it is in Ms. Head’s and the community’s best interest if she can be employed. Rome Police Major Rodney Bailey stated the Police Department’s position is to recommend denial of the permit considering Ms. Head’s recent felony convictions. After further discussion, Mr. Kendrick moved to extend Ms. Head’s temporary City of Rome Alcohol Serving Permit until the March 2020 meeting of the Alcohol Control Commission. At that time, Ms. Head would be expected to either have her probation officer appear in person, or present written documentation that she does not object to this request for an Alcohol Serving Permit. Also, if there are any other potential employers for Ms. Head, the Alcohol Control Commission would like to hear from those employers regarding her felony convictions as well. Mr. Morgan seconded the motion, and it was approved by an unanimous vote. Alcohol Serving Permit Appeal – Tonya Astin Ms. Tonya Astin had also requested the opportunity to appeal to the Alcohol Control Commission regarding her denial for an Alcohol Service Permit due to a felony conviction. Ms. Astin was not present at tonight’s meeting, and no action was taken. El Patron, 1802 Redmond Circle, Suite D – Noise Violation Hearing Secretary Smith stated that a License Hearing is being held today due to a citation being issued by the Rome Police Department at El Patron, 1802 Redmond Circle, Suite D, for excessive noise. This violation occurred on the evening of November 23, 2019. ACC members were reminded that a Hearing for this matter took place at the January 21, 2020 ACC meeting; however, no representative of El Patron was present at that meeting. The Hearing resulted in a recommendation being made to the City Commission that the Beer Pouring and Entertainment License at El Patron be suspended until this date. The Rome City Commission chose to not approve that action, rather, they sent this matter back to the Alcohol Control Commission for a full Hearing to be held with representatives from El Patron present. Assistant City Attorney Stephen Moseley administered the Oath of Office to all present that may be speaking during tonight’s Hearing. Speaking on behalf of the Rome Police Department was Lieutenant Josh Kerce and Officer Amber Lovering. Officer Kerce explained that on the evening of Saturday, November 23, 2019, the Rome Police Department was called to El Patron at approximately 9:45 p.m. due to a complaint from neighboring properties of excessive noise. At that time, contact was made with the manager of El Patron, and a warning was issued, and the volume of the music was reduced. Officer Kerce explained that later that 3 evening at approximately midnight, another call was dispatched for excessive noise at El Patron. When officers arrived, they did find the noise to be at excessive levels once again, and a citation was issued to Ms. Erica Guzman (Ms. Guzman paid a fine in Rome Municipal Court of $135 on January 8, 2020). Lieutenant Kerce and Office Lovering also pointed out that, while security was present during their first visit, there appeared to be no security on site during the second visit, and there still was a relatively large crowd present. Officer Kerce stated that it is not uncommon for officers to visit El Patron due to various reasons. Typically, a warning is given if loud music is encountered, and a citation would be issued if a second visit was required on the same evening. However, that has not happened recently. Officer Kerce also stated that, as directed at the January Alcohol Control Commission meeting, he has reviewed the past two years of calls made to 911 regarding El Patron. There have been 23 calls to 911 during the period of January 1, 2018 through January 22, 2020. A large number of these calls were from El Patron’s security letting the Police Department know that an event was taking place at El Patron that would likely draw a large crowd, and that the Police Department would be called if any problems were encountered during the evening. Officer Kerce also reviewed an incident or two where there was a large fight at this location that resulted in injuries and arrests. These fight situations required a large number of City Patrol Officers, also in some cases, assistance from the Sheriff’s Department, or the Georgia State Patrol. According to Officer Kerce, these incidents (over the past 2 years) resulted in nine arrests and a total of 62 officers, or EMS personnel present at El Patron. Mr. Chris Jackson, the attorney for El Patron, spoke on their behalf. Mr. Jackson reviewed the history of El Patron and the various problems that have occurred there over the years, several of which involved noise issues. Mr. Jackson did remind the members that the noise issues existed under the previous owners and operators of this establishment. Since Mr. Felipe Martinez took over operation of the establishment in January 2018, this is the first Hearing that has been held for any issue, including noise. The previous operators did take steps to prevent noise problems, including alteration of speaker arrangements, technical adjustments to the sound system, and even changes to the HVAC system. It appeared that 2017 was the last time a noise related call took place at El Patron prior to the November 2019 incident. There was considerable discussion regarding the operation of El Patron. It seems that their business model falls into three categories. El Patron is sometimes open on a “normal” basis in which the licensee is operating the facility. Sometimes the facility is rented to a private group who will bring in their own band. These seemed to be referred to as private events, but they are actually public events since members of the public are allowed to enter the establishment. The third category is a truly private event in which a party would rent the facility for an event such as a birthday party or a wedding reception where the public is not invited, and only those specific guests invited by the renting party 4 would be in attendance. Secretary Smith took this opportunity to remind Mr. Jackson and the representative of El Patron that, since this establishment is licensed to sell only beer, beer can be the only alcoholic beverage consumed on the premises under scenario one or two. Along with the licensee at El Patron, the security team was also present. Those individuals stated that anytime there has been a significant issue at El Patron, especially those where fights were encountered, these were during events during “private events” in which the public was allowed to attend to hear a particular musical act. The security personnel verified that they were not present on the night that this noise citation was issued during the second police visit. They were on site during the first visit, but the event had officially ended at midnight, and security had left prior to the police arriving after midnight due to the second noise call and the resulting citation. Mr. Jackson told the ACC members that El Patron had voluntarily shut down the weekend following the January Alcohol Control Commission meeting. There was some discussion regarding the Fire Marshal’s capacity at El Patron and if crowds, in excess of the Fire Marshal’s occupancy, were sometime present. After further discussion by the ACC members, Mr. Kendrick made a motion to issue a verbal warning to El Patron for this noise infraction and direct them to better control their crowds during events, especially those events which are considered private functions. If problems occur in the future, more severe action will likely take place. Mr. Morgan seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimously in favor. Police Report Rome Police Major Rodney Bailey was present and stated there was no report to submit for the previous 30-day period. Adjourned With there being no further business, Chair Sheppard adjourned the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Joseph F. Smith City Clerk 5