Minutes - Council - 03/23/1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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administrative fine. Mr. Goodrich stated that staff is asking that council adopt the findings of the administrative law judge and that the fine of $500 be imposed on JR's Saloon and Food. Motion by Councilmember Hendriksen and seconded by Councilmember Anderson to adopt the findings of fact and conclusions of law as per the recommendation of the Administrative Law Judge, dated March 11, 1999; that the penalty for the April 30, 1998 violation of the Tobacco Ordinance shall be $500; and that in the event the $500 penalty is not paid to the City on or before May 1, 1999, that the licensee's tobacco license be suspended for two days as directed by the Police Chief. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Hendriksen, Anderson, Haas Steffen and Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Case #9: Administrative Hearing Relating to Tobacco Compliance Check; City of Ramsey vs. M&L Country Liquors City Attorney Goodrich stated that an administrative hearing was conducted on January 15, 1999, to determine if there was a violation of Ramsey Ordinance #98-02 on April 30, 1998, when a City-wide check was conducted by the Ramsey Police Department to identify licensed tobacco retailers whose establishments sold tobacco products to a minor during that operation. As in the last case, staff is asking that Council accept the findings of fact and the recommendations of the administrative law judge to impose a $500 fine. Motion by Councilmember Haas Steffen and seconded by Councilmember Anderson to adopt the findings of fact and conclusions of law, as per the recommendation of the Administrative Law Judge dated January 25, 1999, that the penalty for the April 30, 1998 violation of the tobacco Ordinance shall be $500, and that in the event the $500 penalty is not paid to the City on or before May 1, 1999, that the licensee's tobacco license be suspended for two days as directed by the Police Chief. Further discussion: Councilmember Haas Steffen stated that we did have license suspended for one day one time and it was on a Monday. Councilmember Anderson thought that there should be some type of penalty other than fines. John Nieswaag from M&L was present and suggested that the penalties put forth in the City's resolution are inflexible and quite high in penalty. He understands the City Council did what they had to do in drafting this ordinance, but they went above and beyond what the State's minimum is. He felt that the Council may need to look at the severity of the City's ordinance and the lack of flexibility and added that each case is a little different. This is dealing with a human error and we all make mistakes. Motion carded. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Haas Steffen, Anderson, Hendriksen and Zimmerman, Voting No: None. Mayor Gamec recessed the Council meeting at 9:13 p.m. City Council/March 23, 1999 Page 16 of