(Photo by Drew Moran)

WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- The first reading of an ordinance to raise the legal age to 21 to enter bars and establishments that serve alcohol was unanimously approved by the Warrensburg City Council Monday night.


The second reading before passage could come at Council's next meting Dec. 10, and if the measure is approved, it would go into effect Jan. 12, 2008, at 8 a.m.

City Manager Jeff Hancock provided a detailed report on liquor laws, their enforcement procedures and information on alcohol-related violence in Warrensburg.

Hancock said his report also reflected the concerns expressed by the police for the need to strengthen liquor laws and what they had witnessed on Homecoming night.

“The [police department] said they had received increasingly more alcohol-related calls in and around Pine Street. They also noticed a lack of respect and a defiance of their authority on the part of the crowd,” Hancock said.

Among the most immediate measures the city has adopted, Hancock reported that effective Nov. 1, all individuals charged with assaulting a police officer or a serious resisting arrest will be transferred to the Johnson County Jail for a 24-hour hold and charged under state law, rather than city ordinance.

According to Hancock’s report, convictions for Minor in Possession (MIP) have increased over the past five years.

In 2002, 228 convictions were reported, followed by 337 in 2003, 344 in 2004 and 388 convictions in 2005, all with second and third repeated offenses.

By 2006, the number reached 401 MIPs with an unprecedented fourth offense.

Alcohol-related calls for police to Pine Street nearly tripled over the past seven years, increasing from 115 in 2000 to 293 so far this year. Hancock said these numbers do not indicate number of arrests, but complaints.

“In many of those instances, there are multiple arrests made,” Hancock said.

Administrative enforcement procedures against liquor license holders, such as bar and club owners, were adopted by the City Council in 2001. The mechanism requires for a “sufficient number of violations” to take place, according to City Attorney Doug Harris’s report to the Council, for a hearing to be set in motion.

Unfortunately, as incidents are reported, brought to authorities and dealt with in court, several weeks or months can pass between the time of arrest and trial proceedings, Hancock noted.

“While this may mean that violations during the school year result in an administrative case that begins during the summer, every effort is made to make certain that violators do not get to pick and choose times for closure that might lessen the sting of punishment,” Harris said in his report. “There have been, on average, two to three (court) proceedings each license year (against bar owners).”

Sheriff Chuck Heiss gives his point of view regarding the age limit and also called for Club Blue to be shut down. (Photo by Drew Moran)

Among the establishments that have faced legal sanctions, Hancock said, Smitty’s liquor license was suspended for five days in 2006; The Granary, which used to operate as Fan Club, was suspended for two weeks in 2005 and Club Blue was suspended for three days in 2006.

In terms of liquor law violations, the Warehouse leads the count as of Oct. 30 of this year, with 79 reported violations. Fan Club follows with 48 violations, Smitty’s has 38 violations and Club Blue had 35 violations. These numbers, however, can indicate single or multiple arrests per violation reported, he said.

Criticism of the “catch-and-release” program to deal with municipal cases was also addressed in Hancock’s report; he said that the process is mandated by state law.

Harris explained that the Missouri Supreme Court enacted Rule 37, which states that municipal courts have to release individuals upon their signed consent to appear in court at a later date. Harris said the only exceptions to this rule are when the person charged is likely to be a flight risk, or a threat to public safety.

Following Hancock’s and Harris’s reports, members of the audience who had signed up before the meeting were given the opportunity to voice their opinions. Bob Geffen, pastor and volunteer chaplain for the police department, expressed his support for the ordinance and the police department.

“Please do the right thing,” Geffen said. “Not only consider [the ordinance], but adopt it.”

Sheriff Chuck Heiss was also among those who spoke before the Council. He said he was one of the officers assaulted on Homecoming Night and has had his nose broken.

He said the problem lies with bar owners who do not comply with liquor laws and he advocated strict measures.

“We’ve got a problem bar and it’s Club Blue,” Heiss said. “The bar owner doesn’t care. He needs to be put out of business. This problem needs to be dealt with.”

Heiss also said that the police officers exercise a “great deal of restraint” when they deal with disorderly individuals in Pine Street and they should be commended for it.

Council member Deborah Arwood said the ordinance is a first step in the right direction, but that she wishes to see compliance of all liquor laws by bar owners.

“I’m very much in support of this ordinance; it is a good start,” Arwood said. “However, we have seen that harsher policies have not been effective. I want compliance and we should look at what is done to license holders that commit offenses.”