Beer Sales/Consump on Pub Prop
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MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
RE:
DATE:
Bill Harris, Acting City Manager
Don Jolley
Beer Sales and consumption on Public Property
November 30, 1987
The Department of Community Services has firsthand experience
with the consumption and sale of cereal malt beverage. Beer is
consumed in the public parks and it is sold and consumed at the
Municipal Golf Course and the East Crawford Ball Diamonds. In
considering future City policy, it seems to us that four elements
must be considered: economics; public desire and convenience;
regulation and enforcement; and potential problems. Our opinion
on each follows:
ECONOMICS
Sale of beer at the Golf Course and East Crawford Ball Diamonds
can best be described as a convenience to the public. We
certainly aren't in the business for the principal purpose of
making money. Total sales at East Crawford the past summer was
about $2,000 with our net profit being somewhere around $1,200.
Total sales at the Municipal Golf Course averages about $10,000
a year with about $6,000 profit from those sales. At East
Crawford, beer sales represent about 1/6 of our total business,
while at the Golf Course it represents approximately 1/35. Under
the City's present ordinance, beer can be consumed at both
locations and its availability there prevents the need for
individuals to go off the premises to purchase it. I would
estimate that beer purchased from us at both locations represents
less than 5% of total consumption there by the public. That is
because the vast majority of people purchase beer off premises
and brings it there to consume. We have recently initiated a
policy at the Golf Course that prohibits individuals from taking
coolers full of beer on the Golf Course itself. This was a
practice which was detracting from the use of the Golf Course for
its primary intended purpose by the general public.
MEMORANDUM to Bill Harris, pg. 2
PUBLIC DESIRE AND CONVENIENCE
Golfers, ball players, picnickers, spectators, etc., do consume
qualtities of beer at all of our major park and recreation
facilities. The observation of staff is that following
participation in recreation activities, beer is a major part of
the social activity that takes place. This has been true at the
Schilling ball diamonds. It certainly is true of the Municipal
Golf Course and at East Crawford. We have some 75 tournaments a
year at these two sites, literally all of which include the
consumption of beer in conjunction with pre-tournament and post-
tournament activities.
REGULATION AND ENFORCEMENT
The question of enforcement of any policy (other than the
present one) raises some significant issues. Most metropolitan
area park departments have their own park police, an organization
apart from the city police department with enforcement power and
authority as set out in local ordinances. While I certainly
would not suggest that we need such an arrangement in Salina, I
would point out that the enforcement of a non-consumption policy
in our public parks and recreation areas would leave park and
recreation staff in an extremely awkward position of seeing
infractions but being unable to enforce local regulations. While
it might be feasible to restrict beer consumption in an inside
location such as the Bicentennial Center, a similar restriction
in a public park or any location where access can not be rigidly
controlled would make enforcement a nightmare. Who would inspect
vehicles to determine whether beer was brought on the premises?
How in the world could any regulation be uniformly enforced? I
would suggest that with present personnel operating within the
framework of existing responsibility and authority, enforcement
simply could not be accomplished.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS RESULTING FROM A POLICY WHICH PERMITS SALE &
CONSUMPTION
The question is whether or not a problem exists. Consumption in
the parks has been permitted for many years. Sale and
consumption has been permitted at the Municipal Golf Course
since the day it was opened. Consumption has been permitted at
adult ball facilities for as long as I have been in Salina and
for a good time longer than that. Sale and consumption at East
Crawford has been a new experience but a very manageable one.
In all of these situations we have never had cause for concern.
Rowdiness, drunkenness, misconduct, or need for police
assistance, which can be attributed to the sale or consumption of
beer, has been almost totally absent from our facilities.
MEMORANDUM to Bill Harris, pg. 3
predictions were, prior to our sale of beer on East Crawford,
that all of these problems would arise. That has not been the
case. Staff's position is that from a operations standpoint,
restriction or elimination of the sale and consumption of beer at
our park and recreation factilities would not basically change
the nature or character of our duties or responsibilities, but it
would materially change participation in, and enjoymen1: of the
services we provide to that segment of the public which uses
them.