By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Legislative and Regulatory Committee voted 2-0 in favor of assessing the Jury Room, Sports Page Barr and Moy’s Restaurant with 75 alcohol license demerit points each at its meeting Monday night.
Elkhorn Police Chief Joel Christensen said that all of the alcohol violations happened in the pre-COVID timeframe and the department was waiting to see how it was going to handle the demerit point assessments.
According to Christensen, under alcohol licensing ordinances, the committee has been given authority to assess demerit points to businesses based on potential and physical violations.
Christensen said the system was developed a long time ago so that license holders understood the different potential violations and the consequences associated with them.
“(It’s) kind of similar to a drivers license,” he said. “If you got a speeding ticket, you can expect this number of points for a speeding ticket.”
Christensen said when the process was put in place, the city worked with other jurisdictions and license holders to craft the demerit point system, point assessments and what would contribute to a suspension of a license.
He said there are several ways of calculating points, one of which is after the conviction of an offense, such as in these three cases.
In this case, the police department typically reports the conviction and recommended point assessment to the committee level for its review and action.
Christensen also noted that as ordinances give the Legislative and Regulatory Committee the authority to assess demerit points, the committee’s decision is final and the topic does not have to go before the full Common Council for approval.
Aldermen Frank Boggs and Karel Young voted in favor of assessing the demerit points. Alderman Ron Dunwiddie was absent from Monday’s meeting.
Review of infractions
According to the judgment of conviction documents included in the committee packet, Jury Room Bar and Grill owner Howard Knight was found guilty of selling alcohol to an intoxicated person in Elkhorn Municipal Court after the department was dispatched to the establishment on Nov. 6, 2019, for a subject who fell and was injured.
Court documents also state that Betty Barr of The Sports Page Barr was found guilty by default after police department officers found the blinds to The Sports Page Barr closed on March 20, 2020, obstructing a clear view into the business
Judgment of conviction documents state that Moy’s Restaurant was found guilty of violating liquor labeling requirements after police visited the establishment on May 7, 2020, for its annual alcohol inspection. During that visit, officers found several unlabeled bottles of alcohol on the premises.
According to an included memorandum from Elkhorn Police Captain Alvin Brand, when an officer returned to Moy’s Restaurant on May 15 to see if the violations had been corrected, the restaurant still did not have all of the invoices on premise. The memo states it was also discovered the restaurant did not have a seller’s permit issued by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
