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<br />Planning Commission Mintues <br />March 24, 1992 <br /> <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Clark Wilson stated that he was very upset by the City's memo as there <br />was no proof that any of these violations ever happened. He further <br />stated that he could not continue to operate his business financially <br />if the hours of operation were not extended. He explained that the <br />billiards hall in Anoka had to close their business because the City <br />would not allow them to expand their hours to stay consistent with the <br />surrounding communities. Mr. Wilson further addressed staff's concerns <br />regarding the hours of operation, alcohol related offenses, vandalism <br />complaints, and excessive noise. Mr. Wilson felt that his operation <br />did not affect the nursing home or other residents in the area. He <br />stated that one of the major highways (169) runs right past the nursing <br />home, which he feels is much nosier than his business. He stated there <br />could not be a lot of noise from his clients when they were inside <br />playing pool. He went on to explain that there are many people who <br />work the midnight shift that need some place to go. At this time, Mr. <br />Wilson read an article from the Elk River star News regarding a <br />14-year-old charged by police for drinking at 2:30 p.m., which he <br />passed on to the Commissioners. Mr. Wilson stated that teenage <br />drinking is a major problem nation wide. He stated he was not <br />responsible for kids being arrested for alcohol related offenses. He <br />stated that all the problems in the City of Elk River do not come from <br />the billiards hall. He felt that if the billiards hall is not allowed <br />to continue, the Elk River Mall will be overrun by these same kids who <br />have no where else to go. He felt that the billiards hall does the <br />City a great service by giving these kids some place to go (both the <br />younger and older crowds). <br /> <br />Commissioner spotts read a letter submitted by Thomas D. Zerwas, Police <br />Chief which states, that because of the past problems that have <br />occurred in and around the billiards hall he is recommending that the <br />present hours should not be extended past 1:00 a.m. <br /> <br />Ms. Szklarski addressed Mr. Wilson's concerns. She stated that the <br />memo was not intended to blame all the community problems on the <br />billiards hall. The memo is intended to analyze what would happen if <br />these hours were extended. She further stated if the hours were <br />extended past 1:00 a.m., loitering itself could become a problem which <br />could contribute towards noise and vandalism, etc. <br /> <br />Chairman Nadeau opened the public hearing. <br /> <br />The following people in the audience commented on the Players Club: <br /> <br />Shawn Seivens, 14737 NE 84th Street, was in favor of the request. He <br />did not feel that three additional hours on Saturday and Sunday was <br />unreasonable. He stated that the billiards hall was there to help out <br />the community to give the kids some place to go. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Darren Parrish, from Ramsey was also in favor <br />there are a lot of people between the ages of 18 <br />place to go after they get off work. <br /> <br />of the request because <br />and 25 that need a <br />