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Hyde Park City Council is undecided about changing alcohol ordinance By
Sarah Mulholland HYDE PARK -- After about an hour and a half of discussion, the City Council voted to think about the proposed alcohol ordinance more, and decide at another meeting whether to change it or not. The main issue of the meeting was whether or not Hyde Park should remain a "dry city." Many residents would like to see Hyde Park stay how it is; others would like to see it change. The Juniper Inn would like to serve alcohol. It is located about 2800 feet away from Cedar Ridge Middle School, restricting it from being able to serve alcohol according to a city ordinance that requires a business that serves alcohol to be at least 3000 feet away from a school. Because of the distance from schools and churches, no licenses have been issued. Juniper Inn would be able to obtain a license to sell alcohol if the proposed ordinance is adopted, making it to be only 1500 feet away from any school, church, public park, or any other licensed premises. Tracy Hoth, owner of Juniper Inn, stated that the whole purpose is to sell alcohol with meals, not have a bar or a party. He feels that it is currently hurting his business because people travel through and would like alcohol with their meal, which he is currently not allowed to provide. "We just want to increase the revenue for all of us," he said. Several of those attending the meeting voiced their opinions. Many said that they would stop patronizing his business if he brought alcohol into it. One citizen stood up and declared, "I daresay that you may lose more than you can gain." Many perceive Juniper Inn as a "family restaurant." Hoth addressed this issue and let the people know that he could have a separate room for alcohol. Steve Durham, a former policeman, has seen the results of drunk drivers. He isn't against alcohol being served in Juniper Inn, but he would like to make sure that the servers will be trained to know when to stop serving a customer drinks. Ben Jarvis encouraged the council to adopt the ordinance. He feels that a restaurant is a controlled environment and it is better than going to a market and drinking and driving. He said that people would go elsewhere to drink if they want to drink. The alcohol would be too expensive for people to go there just to get drunk. A customer would also have to order food in order to buy an alcoholic drink. Julie Amussen said that she is "thoroughly against it" and "would like it to stay how it is." "Let's not change the integrity and values of Hyde Park," Amussen said. "We can structure an ordinance that does not allow us to sell liquor. We don't have to sell liquor if we don't want to," Mayor Kooyman said. The options that the city council now has are to either adopt or reject the new ordinance. Charles Wheeler moved that the council continue discussing and thinking about the matter; Gordon Bosworth seconded it.
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