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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Moratorium will allow ordinance to be drafted

Proposed pool hall put in side pocket

Keith Vandervort
Posted 5/18/16

ELY – City Council members struggled with how to regulate a proposed Billiard Hall, which was planned to be open by June 1 in Ely, just in time for the start of the tourist season.

At the …

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Moratorium will allow ordinance to be drafted

Proposed pool hall put in side pocket

Posted

ELY – City Council members struggled with how to regulate a proposed Billiard Hall, which was planned to be open by June 1 in Ely, just in time for the start of the tourist season.

At the suggestion by Mayor Chuck Novak that the council take the matter under advisement to address the Police Chief’s concerns over the activities that may occur in the business, a moratorium on all pool halls in the city was put into effect for 90 days or until an ordinance is approved.

“We need to look at how this was handled in other communities,” Novak said. “I myself need more time to look at this.”

A proposal for the new business was presented by proprietor Catherine Fyre to open Catz Billiard Hall in the upstairs portion of the former Masonic Temple building at 23 E. Chapman St. The building stood vacant for years and was recently purchased by the Ott family for yet another development project.

“Catz will provide an alcohol-free environment where families, college students and seasonal under-age workers could enjoy pool on various size tables, video games and all genres of music,” Fyre wrote in her proposal. She indicated the establishment would be available for private parties, pool tournaments or music events. “(The) venue will host locked-door events BYOB and self-catered,” she added.

Fyre also said that by September she intended to begin to serve wine and beer in order to host local pool leagues. “I will continue to have alcohol-free days and hours to provide an appropriate atmosphere for families and college students,” she said.

Clerk-Treasurer Harold Langowski said the request came into his office just this week. The city attorney provided examples of ordinances from other cities, including Elk River, for the council to study. “With the planned consumption and display of alcohol, they will need a (liquor) license,” Langowski said. “We’ll need a couple of weeks of work on this.”

Council members directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance specifically dealing with pool halls. A second action, the 90-day moratorium, was taken to keep the business shuttered until the proper regulations were in effect.

After the motions were unanimously passed, Novak invited Fyre to address the council. “We have six tables ready to go and the other part is that we have music,” Fyre said. “The reason we are asking for the consumption (license) is because we would like to have closed private parties.” She said people would bring their own bottles of alcohol and she has separate insurance for that. “We won’t serve it or even handle it, I believe,” Fyre said.

She said eventually she wants beer, liquor and wine available for pool league activities. She then switched gears and said her main goal was to have an establishment for underage people. “And eventually we want to serve pizza, pop and snacks,” she said. “We want to at least be open for the tourists and families.”

Novak explained that city government does not work that fast. “We have questions here,” he said. “We don’t want to act so quickly and possible have to rescind our action when we get a backlash from city residents,” he said.

City Attorney Kelly Klun noted that the moratorium prohibits all billiard halls in the city of Ely until action is taken. “You have 90 days to act or else the moratorium is lifted.”

Fyre pressed to be able open her business next month and questioned the delaying tactics by the city. “When I came up to the city to talk about it, they put (this type of business) into a category. Should they have kept looking for a billiard hall requirement or category? I don’t understand.”

Langowski said his original impression was that the establishment was going to be a game room only with no alcohol. “The alcohol item brought up the issue of having an ordinance,” he said. Fyre’s liquor license request was filed last week.

Council member Paul Kess attempted to find a way to allow the establishment to be open while the alcohol licensing was processed.

Novak said his concerns were with the proposal made by Fyre. “There is no clarity to it. It has every option in the world. I have to agree with the police chief. If the rules are set directly, we won’t have to keep going back and harassing you all the time.”

Klun said defining a pool hall establishment takes into account the presence of alcohol and the hours of operation. “We are trying to address those types of issues,” she said. “Unfortunately, we are pushing on your time frame, and you are pushing on ours.”

Two-hour parking

Council members had no appetite to act on a request from a restaurant owner to establish a two-hour parking area in the 900 block of East Sheridan Street. The seasonal two-hour parking rule that just went into effect this week is enforced mainly in the core downtown business corridor.

Michelle Rever, owner of Gator’s Grilled Cheese Emporium, 955 E. Sheridan St., requested that the parking area in front of her business have the two-hour parking restriction.

“We would like to provide our diners with nearby parking and the biggest challenge in doing so are cars that are parked in front of our location all day, but don’t belong to our patrons” she wrote. “Providing this is not just wonderful for the busy tourist season, but also of course, in inclement weather.”

Langowski said an ordinance change would be required to change the parking restrictions in that area. He said the council could look at several options, including restricting parking on one side of the street, one block or just a half block area. “There are other businesses in the area as well as homeowners,” he said. “It will take a little work to allow this, in addition to getting more parking signs.”

He noted that parking restrictions only for specific business patrons are allowed in front of two liquor stores in the city. “People stop there for a very short time and leave,” he said. “The first request was to have designated parking in front of the business. Other businesses could request that. It’s kind of a slippery slope.”

Council members were in agreement they did not want to establish designated parking for businesses.

Council member Al Forsman recalled one time when he was a patron of the restaurant, he had to park an extra car away, “because the owner’s car was parked right in front” of the business. “There are very little parking concerns on that block,” he said. “To park a block away to go to that restaurant is not a lot to ask. I don’t see a problem with this.”

Council member Kara Polyner questioned how designated parking could be enforced with no parking area striping in place.

The council stood mute on the issue and no action was taken, allowing for the issue to be discussed at a later date.

Blight properties

City Attorney Kelly Klun updated the council on the civil and criminal proceedings involving Luthera Smith.

Smith took civil action against the city last year when her Washington Street home was razed after being deemed a health hazard. A federal judge dismissed that suit, but the case in state court remains unsettled. That case is set for trial in late June.

The League of Minnesota Cities, the city’s liability insurance carrier, has taken the lead in the city’s defense, according to Klun.

“The city did amend its complaint to compel discovery,” Klun said. “That means she has 10 days to provide data relative to her claim. We sent a number of requests to her. In the event she does not comply with the discovery request, we will ask for this matter to be dismissed with prejudice. She will not be able to bring this matter up again,” she said.

Criminal charges of animal cruelty were filed by the city against Smith. Proceedings in that case, scheduled for last week, were resolved by a plea agreement, Klun said.

She agreed to maintain only one animal, a dog, and relinquished ownership of any and all cats removed from the property that remain at the Mesabi Humane Society. As many as 26 cats had been removed from the property at 1041 E. Washington St.

As the issue with Smith appears to be coming to an end, two city residents addressed the council in the open forum portion of the meeting Tuesday night seeking action involving another property in the Spaulding neighborhood.

Doug Johnston, and another nearby resident, Keith Appleberry, complained of raw sewage coming from an overflowing septic system, and blight conditions at a nearby property. He presented photographs to the council and demanded the city work to clean up the property.

Langowski said the city is aware of the issue and is working with the landowner to remedy the sewage situation and possible blight conditions.