During a work session Thursday, June 19, the Trussville City Council discussed recent alcohol license violations and heard a report on the progress of the Trussville City Schools Foundation from board member Ned Paine.Several restaurant owners and managers were scheduled to speak before the council at its Tuesday, June 24, meeting during a public hearing, and some council members questioned the need to have the process be so public.
Council President Jane Bailey asked if the council couldn’t have a more private meeting with the management of each restaurant to determine whether they had new owners since their last violation.
She also wanted the council to consider the length of time between offenses, which in one case had been five years.
“It is embarrassing for them to have to come down here,” Bailey said. “A public hearing is an embarrassing way for us to address this issue.”
Mayor Gene Melton said he thought the public hearings were necessary to reinforce the importance of respecting the privilege of having an alcohol license.
Councilman Brian Plant tried to see both sides, but said he thought the council treated the management with such respect when they had to attend a public hearing that the owners should not be embarrassed about coming to speak with the council.
“We have never done a public humiliation of them,” Plant said. “If they are holding a commercial license and knew they did this, they should be grateful to have an opportunity to explain themselves in a professional manner. It takes one four-year-old child whose life has been altered by alcohol to reinforce how serious this is. I think it is appropriate on our part to hold these hearings.”
Councilman Jim Robinson said he thought Bailey was approaching the issue with caution because, in his opinion, it hurts the city when stories about alcohol license violations “hit the newspapers.”
Melton thought the public views newspaper articles differently because he has not received any complaints about the council’s method.
“This is not something you want to be nonchalant about whether it has been five years or not,” Melton said. “The buck stops with the management under this deal and they are aware of that when they are issued a license. I think most people who read the papers think we are doing something to stop something dangerous from occurring in our city. If it’s embarrassing for these people, it’s embarrassing.”
Paine addressed the council to ask for individual contributions from each of the council members and to say that donations have been going well recently.
His and the foundation’s goals include having buildings named after donors who give significant amounts of money and continuing to place plaques in rooms where donors have given smaller, but just as important, amounts.
Paine said he also hopes Honda will donate an older robot to be used in Trussville City Schools, since Honda has donated money to the system in the recent past.
“Summer is not a good time for fundraising,” Paine said. “It is exciting at first, but gets old really quick. Everybody has a reason not to give. But everybody gives something to something, so I hope to prove the foundation is where people’s money should go.”
The council also discussed:
O Issues with how long a railroad crossing can be blocked.
O Possible bids on a security system set for Friday, June 20.
O Bids on audio equipment.
O Seeking an appraiser for the Pate property.
O Canopies for the city’s weekly farmer’s market.
O Adding a proclamation to the agenda to support a July 4 celebration.
O Backing plates for street signs.
O A road widening project.
O Carried over items from previous meetings.
