Story originally printed in the Winona Daily News or online at www.winonadailynews.com
Published - Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Council OKs outdoor drinking at bars
Winona bar patrons have enjoyed their alcoholic beverages on outdoor patios for years. But the pastime only became explicitly legal after a city council vote Monday night.
The measure will require bar owners who want to allow outdoor drinking to designate specific drinking areas outside their building — but on their property — when they apply for a liquor license.
The measure appeared to satisfy bar owners present at Monday night’s meeting, though some concerns voiced by law enforcement were left unanswered.
The council — which discussed a similar law last year but didn’t pass it — suddenly seemed eager to act Monday night after some officials emphasized that city law currently has no provision allowing liquor consumption outside bars.
“The way the law is now, there’s a lot of activity going on that’s outside the (liquor) license,” said Mayor Jerry Miller, who urged passage of the measure.
Bar owners like Mike Schniepp, owner of Schniepp’s Bar and Grill, initially balked at the new law but embraced it after the council deleted a provision that would have required bar owners to build fences around their outdoor drinking areas.
Yet concerns voiced by law-enforcement officials — including Winona Police Chief Frank Pomeroy and City Attorney Rich Blahnik — weren’t fully addressed. Pomeroy and Blahnik both said outdoor drinking areas should be accessible only from the inside of the bar, because many local bars with outdoor drinking areas are fenced but have gates that could easily allow access to minors.
The new ordinance “is, in my opinion, something that’s going to be very difficult to enforce,” Blahnik said.
Contact Mark Sommerhauser at (507) 453-3514 or msommerhauser@winonadailynews.com.
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