News

City Council approves amendment to allow bars to stay open longer

By Scott Wagar

07/09/2013

Bottineau’s bars will now have the option of staying open until 2 a.m. after the city council on July 2 passed the second reading of an amendment to the city’s current ordinance, which closed local bars at 1 a.m.

JUNE MEETING
 
The amendment to keep bars open until 2 a.m. came up in the June council meeting when Rebecca Herbel requested from the council members that the city consider leaving bars open in Bottineau until 2 a.m. instead of 1 a.m. She stated that North Dakota allows bars to stay open until 2 a.m. However, Bottineau’s city ordinance only allows bars to stay open until 1 a.m.

Herbel stated that she had petitioned the bars in town where she discovered some were for a longer opening time, while others were against changing the time. She also stated that every city in Bottineau County, along with Lake Metigoshe, keep their bars open until 2 a.m., and pointed out that by keeping Bottineau’s bars open till two in the morning it would keep customers from leaving the town’s local bars to travel to other communities in the county to get additional time in other establishments. Herbel added that if Bottineau had the same bar closing times as the other communities it would more than likely keep the roadways safer.

Bottineau County Sheriff Steve Watson was brought into the discussion by the aldermen who stated that he had personally witnessed individuals leaving the bars in Bottineau, getting on the roads and traveling to other bars in other towns. He stated that he was in favor of leaving the local establishments open till 2 a.m. for that reason.

However, Watson did have one stipulation in favoring the 2 a.m. opening time. He requested that local enterprises which provide dances for wedding parties or public events be made to keep their closing times at 1 a.m. Watson stated that if the time was changed to 2 a.m. his deputies wouldn’t finish their duties until three in the morning. He felt that his deputies wouldn’t appreciate working such long hours.

With the discussion over, the council voted in favor of passing the first reading of an amendment of the 1 a.m. opening time.

JULY MEETING

Last Tuesday evening, the council passed the second reading of the 2 a.m. closing. The amendment to the closing time ordinance will now be 2 a.m. in Bottineau. However, all catered events which serve alcohol will still have a 1 a.m. closing time.

OWNERS

Local bar owners down Main Street and Highway 5 appear to feel that the council’s decision for a 2 a.m. closing wasn’t necessary in the community.

Warren Schneider of the Dog House stated that instead of the council voting to extend the closing time an additional hour, the county commissioners should have voted to make it mandatory to have all bars throughout the county close at 1 a.m. like the former Bottineau ordinance. Schneider stated that extending the closing time to an additional hour only allows individuals to drink more late in the evening and still allows patrons of bars to go to other establishments outside of Bottineau, which can cause serious problems on the roadways at times.

Although he is against the 2 a.m. time, he said the Dog House would stay open until that time.

“I only hope we will be able to keep people in Bottineau, leaving them with shorter drives home or the opportunity to call a cab, which they can afford short distance,” Schneider said. “But, I truly believe the county should have stepped in and placed the closing time for all bars in the county at 1 a.m.”

For Ron Johnson, owner of Cowboy’s Bar and Craig Pottenger, owner of the Norway House bar, they stated they have no intention of keeping their bars open until 2 a.m. and will close their bars at 1 a.m. or sooner like midnight if there are no patrons in their establishments on given nights.

JC Chisholm, manager of the Cobblestone Inn and Suites on Highway 5, stated that Cobblestone will be playing it by ear as to when they will close Cobblestone’s local tavern down each evening.

“If our guests and local resident want to be there until 2 a.m. we will stay open,” Chisholm said. “But, if the guests and local residents do not want to use our bar past 1 a.m. we will close the bar down and not stay open until 2 a.m.”