A possible change to the time at which alcohol can be served in Saratoga bars is now with the district court.
Saratoga Springs City Council on Tuesday approved a motion to the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors to seek state approval to ban the sale of alcohol for local consumption after 2 a.m., causing the Saratoga Springs bar scene between 2 a.m. in the morning and would effectively wipe out 4 in the morning
Some bars in the city have been open until the wee hours of the morning for decades, resulting in a nightlife steeped in history that has at least bounced back to pre-pandemic levels this summer.
But city officials and police are increasingly concerned about the level of public drunkenness and a number of recent gun-related arrests in the late hours. However, the city cannot limit the opening times for bars in the city on its own. The state Spirits Act instead requires the district inspectorate to request a limit on opening hours, an application that must be approved by the state spirits authority.
The city council passed a formal motion to the district board of trustees at its Tuesday evening meeting calling on the district to ask the state to limit liquor hours to 2 a.m.
“Through analysis and arrests, it has become clear to us that the hours of 2:00 am to 4:00 am undoubtedly pose a public safety risk for the entire community,” said Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton at the city council meeting on Tuesday. “We cannot let this threat to public safety continue.”
Dalton said she wanted to work with the companies that would be affected by an earlier shutdown.
“It is important for us to work with the company that may be affected to recover financial loss or the perception of financial loss,” said Dalton.
Mayor Meg Kelly, who presented the resolution approved on Tuesday, held up a pile of fake IDs that she said had come out of a bar in one evening: there were over 50 cards.
“It is regrettable that in recent years the service of alcoholic beverages into the late hours has brought far more people out at night and created unprecedented problems in our city,” reads the decision adopted by the Council.
Saratoga Springs Police Chief Shane Crooks said after the council resolution was passed that he agreed that an earlier closure would benefit the town, noting that the town police had arrested over the weekend in connection with the bar scene.
“We saw a sharp increase in service calls and the number of people,” said Crooks. “The people we deal with so late at night are very drunk.”
The debate about an earlier closure is now shifting to the district board of directors.
Saratoga Springs district overseers Tara Gaston and Matt Veitch said after Tuesday’s meeting the district overseers would take the city’s request, but warned that a change would take months – if not longer. They also said they wanted to hear from bar owners and other stakeholders in what could be a lengthy committee process before forming an opinion on whether the county should approve the city’s motion.
“While I understand the concerns of the Commissioner and the Mayor, this will not be a solution to an immediate security problem. That won’t solve a problem for the next week, ”said Gaston. “The process is extremely important to get all the pages. It will take a while, but I think this is a good process for such a big change. “
Veitch noted that both the district and state spirits boards would have to hold public hearings on a possible change – if the proposal got that far.
“They talk for at least several months, if it ever happens to the county,” he said. “We have bars downtown serving patrons and police and sheriff; there are several possible factors. I stay open and let the process run its course. “
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