Talk about time out

Yearlong moratorium would freeze liquor licenses, allow for study

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — After years of unfettered growth, Mankato’s entertainment district hasn’t been able to solve crime and nuisance problems within its bars and in surrounding neighborhoods.

And added enforcement would only target the effects of that growth, not the structural and operational issues that lead to it.

The city’s staff doesn’t yet have all the answers, but City Manager Pat Hentges says a time out would freeze the situation, providing a baseline for a study while preventing problems from worsening. It’s called a moratorium, and it means that the city would keep the number of liquor licenses stable for up to one year.

Hentges compared the situation to secondhand smoke, an issue that received a lot of attention and, eventually, City Council action. Excessive drinking, he argues, levies a much higher cost on society than secondhand smoke.

Hentges said the first step on that path would be a moratorium.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the issue on Monday evening. It could decide to vote then on a moratorium or wait on it. In late 2005, the council deadlocked 3 to 3 on the moratorium. But two of the council people who voted “no” on the issue have left the council.

Legal muscle

Problem is, the city can’t deny liquor licenses just because of a perceived over-saturation of bars downtown. It needs to develop standards to justify changes to the licensing process and to the ways bars are regulated.

Those changes could take many forms.

The current non-restaurant liquor license, which costs about $6,000 for seven-day operation, could be split up into several categories with different pricing.

Hentges said that could mean that restaurants that earn more income from food would pay less for a permit while establishments that rely on liquor would pay more. That’s because bars tend to generate more problems than restaurants.

Minneapolis has a similar system, though its licensing structure relies on live entertainment, rather than a comparison of food and liquor sales, said Grant Wilson, the city’s manager of business licensing.

The cheapest license, Class E, allows no live acts and costs $5,677. That goes to Class A, which allows unlimited live entertainment, including adult acts, and costs $9,413.

“It was proven that there were more police calls at establishments with live entertainment than those that didn’t,” Wilson said.

There’s also a zoning rule that forces bars near neighborhoods to derive 60 percent of their income from food. Like Hentges, he says such establishments create fewer problems than their liquor-fueled cousins.

A problem, Wilson said, is that restaurants sometimes don’t stick to their early promises.

“After one month in operation, rock ’n’ roll bands are playing five nights a week and they’ve fired their cook,” he said.

Criteria based on location have been used elsewhere.

Last year, the New York State Liquor Authority issued a four-month moratorium on bars and nightclubs that are within 500 feet of other licensed bars.

No more competition?

Bar owners seem to agree that Mankato has enough bars, though this could be interpreted as a desire to cut down on competition.

Devin Gasswint, owner of the South Street Saloon, says there should be a cap on bars until the city’s population grows. But he disagrees that liquor license fees should be raised to recoup law enforcement expenses.

“That’s (BS),” he said. “I’m so tired of the city being my parent.”

Ron Doty owns T.J. Finnegan’s. He agrees that the saturation of downtown bars crams too many people into too small an area.

More bars means that it’s easier for drunk patrons to play the numbers game. With so many bars, Doty said, an intoxicated but thirsty customer is bound to be served someplace.

An answer in the works?

More money from liquor licensing to fund more law enforcement isn’t enough, Hentges said.

Bars should alter their operations to discourage a rowdy, party atmosphere, he argues. That may mean more pronounced moves toward food offerings and less dance space.

Drink specials can be a problem, too. The late-night all-you-can-drink offers — not mere drink discounting — are the problem, he said.

Finally, he said a mandatory training course ought to be considered to educate servers and security staff about what’s expected of them. Many servers, he said, are surprised to hear that they commit a gross misdemeanor when they serve an underage patron, even if he or she was allowed in by someone else.

Hentges said the insurer of the Midwest Wireless Civic Center requires staff to take a two-hour course.

Finding balance

Ultimately, Hentges wants to see an entertainment district that isn’t dominated by bars. This partying monoculture discourages other investment in the downtown, he argues.

And he has little faith that the market will adapt without government intervention.

“What’s been lacking (in the downtown) is diversity.”