Loading...
07-78Suspension - 1/24/0� RESOLUTfON CITY OF SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA Presented by Council File # 07-78 Green Sheet # 3036421 WHEREAS, the Legislative Heazing Officer recommends that the application for a State of Minnesota Gambling Control Board's Premise Permit by Community Charities of Minnesota, located at 400 Selby Avenue,be approved; THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Saint Paul hereby approves this license application. Yeas Nays Absent Benanav � Bostrom Harris � Helgen Lantry ` Montgomery � Thune ` � � o Adopted by Council: Date 'fa�/�' � Adoption Certified by Council Secretary � � BY� ' S Approved by Mayor: te � L9 O By: Requested by Deparhnent of: � Form Approved by CiTy Attomey � Approved by Mayor for Submissio� to Council � ��-� S � Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet Green Sheet � co -������ Contact Person & Pho�: Marcia Mceimond 266-8570 Doc.Type: RESOLUTION E-DOCUment Required: N Document CnnWCt: ConWd Phone: za-anri-o� � Assign Number For Rauting Order Total # of Signature Pages _(Clip All locations for Signature) Green Sheet NO: 3036421 0 ouncl I ooncil De artnent Direcror 2 ' Clerk 3 4 5 Approving the license application, per the Legislafive Hearing Officer, for a State of Minnesota Gambling Control Boud's Premise Permit by Community Charities of Minnesota, located at 400 Selby Avenue. necommenoanons: Approve (n) or tte)ec� (FO: Personal servfce contrac[s must Answer the Following Questions: � Planning Commission 1. Has this persoNfirm ever worked under a contract for this department? CIS Committee Yes No Civil Service Commission 2. Has this person/firm ever been a city employee? Yes No 3. Does this person/firm possess a skill not normalty possessed by any current ciry employee? Yes No E�cplain all yes answers on separote sheet and attach to green sheet Initiating Probiem, Issues, Opportunity (Who, What, When, Where, Why): � AdvanWges If Approved: DisadvanWges If Approved: DisadvanWges If Not Approved: Transaction: Funding Source: Financial Information: (Explain) Acti�ity Number: � CostlRevenue Budgeted: January 24, 2007 138 PM Page 1 r��-7� MINUTES OF THE LEGISLATNE HEARING COMMUNITY CHARITIES OF MINNESOTA, LOCATED AT 400 SELBY Suite 300 Ciry Hall, 15 Kellogg Boulevard West T'hursday, January 18, 2007 Mazcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer The hearing was called to order at 10:02 a.m. STAFF PRESENT: Reid Soley, License, Inspections, Environmental Protection (LIEP) Ms. Moermond stated this is a follow-up to a Legislative Hearing from two weeks ago. The only letter of objection is from David Cost. Reid Soley repofted that he is a licensed inspector. This is an application for a State of Minnesota Gambling Control Board Premise Permit which will allow the applicant to operate gaznes of chance at benefit chazities under the Gambling Location License that has been applied for at Fabulous Fern's. The organization is called Community Charities of Minnesota. The Gambling Manager for them is Mark Healy. LIEP recommends approval with no conditions. Ms. Moermond responded that it seems that the letter of objection is more related to a position against gambling instead of a position about side effects that this Gambling Location License would generate. Mr. Cost is not here. Ms. Moermond asked if Mr. Healy had any comments. Mark Healy appeared and stated he read the objection a couple of times. If the objection is against gambling in general, then that is a different issue than an organization applying for a gambling license. He did not see an objection against his organization. Ms. Moermond responded that she did not either. Mr. Healy stated that pull tabs are all over the City of Saint Paul. He does not think that property values are being decreased ar it brings an unwanted element or anything like that. Ms. Moermond recommends approval of the license application citing two factors: 1) LIEP's recommendation is for approval, 2) she cannot see adding any conditions based on the concerns articulated in the letter. The hearing was adjourned at 10:08 a.m. rrn D�-�g MINUTES OF THE LEGISLATIVE HEARING FABULOUS FERN's — 400 Selby Avenue 330 City Ha1UCourthouse, 15 Kellogg Boulevazd West Thursday, January 4, 2007 Marcia Moermond, Legislative Hearing Officer The hearing was called to order at 10:02 a.m. STAFF PRESENT: Christine Rozek and Reid Soley, License, Inspections, Environmental Protection (LIEP) Charles Senkler, owner, appeared. Marcia Moermond explained that this is a Class N license, which means that the neighborhood gets notified and people have the opportunity to voice concerns about the license. If anyone does that, it automatically triggers a heazing. There is one of three possible outcomes to this hearing that she will recommend to the City Council: 1) grant the license without conditions, 2) grant the license with conditions and the applicant would need to be agreeable to these conditions, and 3) refer this matter to an Administrative Law Judge. Reid Soley, LIEP, reported that his office received an application for Fabulous Ferns far a Gambling Location License to be added to the existing licenses at this location. There are no license conditions proposed. There are no conditions on the other licenses for Fern's. LIEP is recommending approval of this license. Christine Rozek, LIEP, reported that this application allows Mr. Senkler to have a charitable organization come in. This also allows the charity to have a pull tab booth, run a paddle wheel in the bar, and sell tip boards. There is a pending application for the charitable organization. Unfortunately, the notices for that hearing went out with a different date on them. That notification expiration date is until January 12. Ms. Moermond asked for clarification on paddle wheels and tip boazds. Ms. Rozek responded the paddle wheel spins and has numbers on it. This is legal in the State of Minnesota for charitable organizations to run. Mr. Senkler responded they are planning on initially doing a pull tab booth or maybe doing a meat raffle in the summer. Mr. Senkler stated that he built Fabulous Fern's and opened it in 1981. At that time, the neighborhood had a lot of crime, drug dealers, muggers, and prostitutes. It had ended up at the Port Authority and Mr. Senkler brought it from them. He thought the neighborhood had potential. They rebuilt the restaurant and opened it up. Mr. Senkler has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years. He has been past president of the Selby Area Business Association for two terms for a total of four yeazs. He has been on the City of Saint Paul Small Business Board for Mayor Coleman. Fern's has donated to about 81 different charities. 5ince the Saint Paul smoking ban, they have cut back on a lot of the charitable contributions. For the 15 years prior to that, they were active in the neighborhood. They did fundraisers to buy the police a�—� � LEGISLATIVE HEt1RING MINUTES FOR FABULOUS FERN'S Page 2 officers bulletproof vests. They supported the women's halfway house on Grand Avenue. "I`hey recently supported the YWCA Families in Transition. They have been part of the neighborhood for 16 yeazs, and a big part of the renaissance on Selby Avenue is because of them. They would not do anything to jeopazdize that neighborhood and business. Mr. Senkler has another location in Oakdale, and they do pull tabs there. The pull tab people donate money from the booth to activities in the Oakdale azea. Tlus is to make up some of the income they have lost, to get money available for some of the charities they have supported in the past. The money from the pull tab activity has to be spent in the neighborhood or the Saint Paul area. There are plenty of places to put it in the neighborhood. The pull tab activity is harmless. They plan to put the booth in the baz azea. It is a dead space and not in the middle of the room. It is a pretty innocent activiry. He lives a half a block from the restaurant. He knows the neighborhood, knows everyone there because he has lived in the neighborhood. Ken Rockler, lives at 454 Ashland Avenue, appeared and stated he is on the boazd of Community Chazities. They are low in their operating costs. They have donated over $4 million in donations. There is an automatic 10% that goes to Saint Paul. Community Chazities has a rule that 85% of the net proceeds must stay in the community. NIr. Rockler heard there was a meeting eazlier about the lack of chazitable giving that has resulted because of the smoking ban. This license will help activities in Saint Paul. He has been a customer of Fern's, and he has seen people there from legislators to business leaders. Mr. Senkler would not do anything to endanger that reputation. Because of the operation of the charity, Lora Norstrem will be in charge of the site. Lora Norstrem, Assisting Gambling Manager for Community Charities, appeazed and stated her duties aze the mid section of the state. She does all the supervising and oversees the operations of the sites in Saint Paul of which there is one other. Ms. Moermond asked the purpose of the charities. Ms. Norstrem responded they do Toys for Tots, food shelves. They do marches, and they get requests for different organizations in that community. Someone may want money for playground equipment. They support Relay for Life, a breast cancer organization. Mr. Senkler stated he would like to get money out of the pull tabs and put money back into the neighborhoods. Eight-Five percent of the gambling money stays in the community. They are anticipating raising $12,000 net for breast cancer this year. There tends to be a heavy concentration in the local areas for youth programs. They are looking at doing things for veterans. Ms. Moermond staxed she received letters from the following: David Cost, 423 Laurel Avenue; Henry L. Janney, 177 Arundel Street; Richazd McDermott, 481 Laurel Avenue; Kelly Weinberg, 459 Selby Avenue. All of the letters seem to have something to do with the introduction of gambling into the area rather than specific concerns about Fern's and its location. Henry Janney, 1043 Grand Avenue, appeared and stated he has been a patron of Fern's over the yeazs. He is curious about the dates because he thought he had until the 12 or 16�' to raise objections. He thought that was for the pull tabs as well. He asked for clazification. Ms. �-�� LEGISLATIVE HEARING MINtJTES FOR FABULOUS FERN'S Page 3 Moermond explained that there are a couple of kinds of licenses that need to be issued. One is the gambling location license, which is the one they aze talking about this morning. The other is the charitable organizarion. What they aze going to need to do is give people a chance to continue to comment and Ms. Moermond will continue this hearing, so those people can voice their concems as well. Mr. Janney continued: He made a real estate investment in a house. About a month ago, a friend was mugged in the neighborhood. On the way over here, he saw the first graffiti in the neighborhood at the intersection of Selby and Dale. He can't help but associate gambling with the potential decline in the neighborhood. He does not have a problem with gambling. It has its place and time, but he does not want people combining liquor consumption and gambling in the neighborhood. He supports Fern's and hopes to in the fuhue. Kelly Weinberg could not be here today because of last minute notification of this meeting. She has two children and does not want gambling in the neighborhood. Mr. Senkler stated in 1991 the azea was a bad place to live and Number 1 on police crime grids for the City. Fern's constantly maintains the area. Mr. Senkler has not seen the graffiti. He worked at Fern's last night. There are panhandlers there constantly. There have been more panhandlers this summer than he has seen in the last ten years. The pull tab activity is so soft. He is committed to the neighborhood as any of the residents have been. Graffiti and muggings aze not going to be accelerated by people playing pull tabs in the area. It is more accelerated by people standing outside smoking. More problems have happened in the City in the last six months from people being out on the street and the police do not have the manpower to control it. Mr. Senkler, his son, bartender, and the other managers keep an eye on the pazking lot. If there aze suspicious people, he is on the phone or they confront people themselves. They think they are good neighbors. They do not think they have the impact on things in the neighborhood. Mr. Janney stated Fern's has a great patio. Now it has become a smoking area. It is enclosed completely with clear plastic sheets and lit up brightly. Last night, it started to feel like a casino because it is bright. He has heazd some peopie speak of the smell of smoke, although he cannot smell it. Also, there aze people outside because of smoking. Now, people will go there because they can have a smoke outdoors and be protected from the elements. Institutionalized gambling is gambling. It represents a step back for the neighborhood. He asked is the percentage negotiated between the individuals running the business. Mz. Rockler responded that there is a net coming from the sale of pull tabs. He is not sure what the ideal net might be. (Mr. Rockler explained how the percentags works.) Their organization feels that 85% of the money is spent in the azea. He had a restaurant that closed down 90 days ago. He leamed that people aze going to gamble anyhow whether they do it through the PowerBall, gas station, grocery store. It is hard trying to legislate morality on this situation. He does not think tY�ere will be a problem with anything bad with the neighborhood. Regarding the potential increase in nuisance activity that would manifest itself in the exterior that would affect the neighbors, Ms. Moermond is not seeing that connection. The larger socio- economic things going on in Saint Paul have more to do with the crime situation and graffiti than the existence of a gambling license or liquor license in this location. This is a legal license in a�-�� LEGISLATIVE HEARING MINiJTES FOR FABULOUS FERN'S Page 4 this location and operation. There is not a condition that could address the concems Mr. Janney brought up, although his concems are legitimate. Ms. Moermond recommends the Gambling Locarion License be issued with no conditions. The Gambling Manager license is still coming forward for the charitable organization. The deadline is January 12. Ms. Moermond will lay this matter over. Ms. Rozek added that the State issues these licenses. It would be best to get it to the State by the first of the month. The hearing was adjoumed at 10:45 am. rrn