Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/23/2007

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Councilmember Elvig asked if there had been any repercussions for the kids with people wanting retribution. Ms. Kreyer stated that there were a few instances a few years ago, but nothing recent. Councilmember Elvig asked if the offender ever sees who the checker is. Ms. Kreyer stated that they do see them because the checker needs to go back and make a visual identification. She stated that the checkers cannot be prosecuted for attempting to purchase the liquor. She stated that they go through training about the legal system and what they can and cannot do. She stated that basically the kids are taught to say as little as possible. Councilmember Dehen asked if any businesses had held kids and called the police for attempting to buy liquor. Ms. Kreyer stated that kids had been held for both alcohol and tobacco. She stated that there are officers nearby and the dispatchers are also informed when there are compliance checks happening. She noted that for tobacco checks, the kids are sent in pairs, but for alcohol, the kids are sent in alone. She stated that the kids are instructed that if they know someone in the store, they should just leave and not attempt the purchase the liquor. She stated that kids have a Nextel phone if they need to contact the officer. She stated that what the checks have found is that clerks many times are asking for ID, but not reading it. She reviewed the summary report of the compliance checks. In 2002, there were 3 rounds of checks for a total of 49 retailers, there were 7 failures, 4 incidents were the clerks did not check ID, and 3 where the clerk checked ID but sold the liquor anyway. In 2004 and 2005, there were 2 rounds of checks for a total of 31 retailers, there were 4 failures, 4 clerks checked ID and sold liquor and 1 clerk that asked the age and still sold the liquor. In 2006 and 2007, there were a total of36 checks, there were 5 failures, 4 incidents where the clerk did not check ID and all 4 sold the liquor. Councilmember Look stated that he didn't want to offend anyone, but imagined that the clerks working in the liquor stores may not have the best academic skills and could have trouble calculating the legal age from ID. He stated that he was concerned that the City was penalizing the business owner for mistakes that the employees are making. City Attorney Goodrich stated that the clerk is given a ticket as well as the business owner. He stated that there is a series of steps for the penalty process and there have not been any legal challenges to this process. Police Chief Way noted that he had included pictures of Minnesota ID and noted that those that are underage clearly stated Under Age 21 on them. City Attorney Goodrich also stated that clerks have tools available to help them, like a machine they can run the ID through that scans the information and tells them if liquor can be sold to that person. City Council Work Session / October 23, 2007 Page 3 of 4