The Alcohol License and Review Committee is set to discuss alcohol issues and liquor license grants at its meeting Wednesday.
ALRC will hear a Global Information Systems report presentation by William Lugo, Madison’s on-site evaluator for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Lugo will present a map of downtown Madison that graphs the location of alcohol-related police calls in relation to the location of drink-special venues.
“The findings show that the concentration of calls is where the drink specials are,” Lugo said.
The GIS report has previously been presented to ALRC and in a press conference with UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, but Lugo said the data are now more recent (from 2000-2001) and are focused on serious crimes such as alcohol-induced assault.
Chief of Police Sgt. Emil Quast said through the report’s comparison of sectors in Madison, a correlation is found between alcohol-related police calls and a high concentration of drink-special serving venues, rather than with a high concentration of bars in an area.
“Our concern here is that alcohol over-consumption is driving batteries and fights,” Quast said. “We need bars to work with us for public safety. One way is through specials, but this process is a lot of small steps. No one thing will be the answer.”
The ALRC will decide at the meeting whether to grant a liquor license to Jongyean Lee for the Church Key, 626 University Ave., and Riley’s Wines of the World, 402 W. Gorham St. Mrs. Lee applied for a liquor license after her husband pleaded guilty to tax evasion.
Sergeant Quast said Lee was confronted in a private meeting about current management problems with employee training and alcohol sales in both establishments. Quast said the police department will add a list of conditions to her license and allow her to hold a liquor license based on her compliance.
“My guess is Mrs. Lee will accept the conditions and address the current problems,” Quast said.
ALRC member Bill Cosh said he is looking forward to discussing some of the alcohol issues at the meeting. One area that will likely be discussed is the university’s decision to lengthen the Union hours to 2:00 a.m. Thursday through Saturday next fall.
ALRC member Kent Palmer said he disapproves of the university’s action.
“The university should be consistent in what they are requesting others to do with what they do,” Palmer said. “They should know there will be an increase in police resources and alcohol-related problems at the Union next fall.”
Wiley said the Union experienced no serious alcohol-related problems recently.
However, Sergeant Quast said the Union is not exempt from alcohol-related issues.
“As bar owners, bartenders and managers they have some of the same faults as downtown bars. However, this does not take away from their attempts to create entertainment alternatives,” Quast said.
Quast said he approves of the potential transition to pitchers rather than 46-oz cups.
“It is a wise idea to decrease large volume serving, because in effect, it is a drink special,” Quast said.
Union Director Mark Guthier said the decision to switch the 46-oz cups to pitchers came in response to critics of the Union’s extended hours, with the goals of keeping alcohol inside the Union premises and influencing public perception of the 46-oz container.
“We want to make it clear the 46-oz serving is a pitcher serving size, not an individual serving size,” Guthier said.
Andrew Wallmeyer, Director of the Wisconsin Union Directorate, said the transition to pitchers is not yet official, and a decision will be finalized sometime within the week.
