St. Charles bar owners renew permits to serve alcohol late

ST. CHARLES – More than 20 St. Charles businesses for the second year in a row paid an additional $800 or $2,300 to stay open late and serve alcohol.

The St. Charles City Council in April approved late-night permit renewals for 22 establishments. The renewals are for the city’s 2015-16 fiscal year, which began May 1.

Liquor licensees who want to stay open until 1 a.m. pay for an $800 permit while those opting for a 2 a.m. closing have to pay $2,300 each year, according to a city ordinance.

The late-night permit system was implemented in 2014 as the result of talks that began with former St. Charles Mayor Don DeWitte about over-serving alcohol and police calls for rowdy downtown activity.

Some bar owners are not pleased about the added cost of serving alcohol, including Dawn Humer, owner of Dawn’s Beach Hut, at 8 N. Third St., St. Charles.

Like she did in 2014, Humer in March addressed the city council about the cost and purpose of the permits.

“If this whole thing came up because of bar behavior, then it should be based on merit, not money,” Humer said.

Dawn’s Beach Hut is one 15 St. Charles businesses that have a 2 a.m. late-night permit. There are seven businesses in the city with a 1 a.m. permit.

Humer said the city allowed her to pay her fee in two installments. The city does not hide the fact it puts a premium on 2 a.m. permits, St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina said.

“We want people to come to St. Charles, have fun and be safe,” said Rogina, who also is the city’s liquor commissioner.

Rogina said the late-night permit adds a certain awareness and sense of responsibility of the liquor license holder. Instead of simply taking away a liquor license from a business for a violation, Rogina has the option to suspend a late-night permit, as well. He did so for the Filling Station Pub & Grill, 300 W. Main St., St. Charles, in 2014 after the Filling Station was cited for serving alcohol to a person younger than 21.

Rogina said he has seen an intense increase in cooperation between police and the city’s liquor licensees since the late-night permit system was implemented.

The liquor control commission and city council received a tally of police-related incidents that took place at businesses with liquor licenses, but not all the incidents resulted in an arrest or a liquor license violation, St. Charles Police Chief James Keegan said at a March 23 council committee meeting.

Keegan said he wants businesses to let the police department know about unruly patrons without fear of unwarranted penalties.

“If there’s an issue that necessitates police response, they are urged … to call us out and investigate,” Keegan said after the March 23 meeting.

Mark Hoffman, owner of Mark’s Second Street Tavern, 221 S. 2nd St., St. Charles, previously said no business owner would willingly want bad things to happen inside or outside of their buildings.

Hoffman opted for a 2 a.m. late-night permit, but does not appreciate what he calls a surcharge that was not previously required by the city.

“To put a damper on one of your most thriving industries doesn’t make sense,” Hoffman said. “[The city] should be supporting the industry that is here rather than lamenting the industries that are not.”

Rogina said he wants St. Charles businesses to make money, but he wants to curb bad behavior at the same time. He said he would be open to talking about changing the permit system in the future, but no changes will be implemented for the remainder of its second year.

“We’re always going to keep our eyes and ears open about the possibilities … but to make any promises about that would be inappropriate at this time,” he said.