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Show The Alamo and the city are feuding again by Christopher Smart Main Street's Alamo Saloon was given a warning, once again, by the municipality Feb. 9 when the Citv Council voted to make liquor license approval ap-proval for the Alamo and its next-door partner, The Club, contingent on a 120-day 120-day probationary period. The issue came to the council because under normal circumstances the Utah Liquor Control Commission will only grant private club licenses to those establishments that have approval ap-proval from the city. However, in this case, the owners of the Alamo, Mark Stemler and Cindy David, asked the state to grant private club status to the Main Street saloon under the license of the neighboring Club. The Club is also operated by Stemler and David. The state granted the request and the Alamo has been serving liquor since Dec. 29. Working in a fashion opposite to normal channels, the state then asked the municipality for approval, according to City Attorney Tom Clyde. The city staff and council, however, didn't receive the request warmly. According Ac-cording to Clyde and Police Chief Frank Bell, the Alamo has been the source of many complaints by residents resi-dents as well as a constant source of irritation to the police. Reciting statistics, Bell said that during the past year the Park City Police Department has received 44 calls for assistance from private clubs and bars. The Alamo and The Club were responsible for 25 of those calls, he said. "Our people are taking a beating down there," Bell said. In April of 1983 Bell ordered a 72-hour 72-hour closure of the Alamo when his of ficers were reportedly harrassed there. Stemler and David filed suit in Federal court asking reimbursement of lost profits plus $100,000 in punitive damages. On Jan. 16 of this year the city settled out of court with the Alamo, paying its proprietors $2,500. In August of 1983 the municipality threatened a "nuisance suit" against the Alamo for loud band music, which according to Bell and Clyde was disturbing the peace. The City Council later tabled that action. In the Feb. 9 council meeting, councilman coun-cilman Tom Shellenberger suggested to the council that they deny the request for the licensing. Shellenberger Shellen-berger cited as an additional reason for denial, the inability of Stemler to work with the city. "He has been contemptuous con-temptuous of this council," Shellenberger Shellen-berger said. Clyde then explained to the council that it is his recommendation that the Alamo and The Club be placed on a 90-day 90-day probation. During that time, he said, if the two establishments haven't undergone "a rapid and substantial change of character" then a hearing to consider license revocation could be scheduled. Councilman Bob Wells said that he favored giving the Alamo "one more chance." But added that the City j Council had given Stemler "one more chance," many times. j After discussing the implications of ' the license approval and probation, j Councilman Al Horrigan made a ' motion that they approve the licensing of the Alamo under The Club's license contingent upon a 120-day probation. The motion passed with Shellenberger dissenting. |