TASTE GIVEN THREE MORE MONTHS

City officials voted 4-3 Monday to renew the Taste Lounge liquor license for three months after spending an hour intensely questioning bar owner Michael Pryor about his security practices.

The vote came in spite of a police recommendation to revoke the license, which will be up for renewal again in March. If there are no serious incidents of violence, city officials will renew it again and then review it in July when all city liquor licenses come up for yearly renewal.

Voting in favor of the license renewal were Mayor Albert Spradling III and Councilmen Matt Hopkins, Jay Purcell and Richard Eggimann. Councilmen Tom Neumeyer, Frank Stoffregen and Hugh White voted against the renewal.

Pryor left the meeting immediately following the vote and declined to comment about the renewal.

His attorney, Albert Lowes, who spoke on Pryor's behalf early in the meeting, said afterward that it probably was best that Pryor did not comment.

"I think it's a crying shame they hassled him that way," Lowes said.

The Taste Lounge, 402 Good Hope Street, which has been operating on a six-month probationary license, has been plagued for months by disturbances requiring police attention, said Police Chief Richard Hetzel, who recommended the liquor license denial.

19 police visits

According to research submitted to the council, police have paid visits to the Taste Lounge 19 times since July.

Only six written police reports were taken between July 1 and Dec. 10, three of which were written up Oct. 8 after a series of altercations involving 100 to 150 people who would not disperse from Good Hope Street. There is some question as to how many of those involved in the fight were customers of the Taste Lounge.

Many of the incidents are attributed to crowds loitering in front of the bar and along Good Hope Street.

Pryor told the council that he personally tries to disperse crowds from in front of his bar, but said it is impossible for him to shoo people who are gathered blocks away.

"I move people who are standing in front of my business," he said. "I can't walk two blocks down the street. I can't run people off the street, especially in the summertime. There's a problem on that street, which I don't have any control over."

Street loitering

Both Hetzel and some council members acknowledged that loitering on Good Hope Street is a problem that may not be directly attributable to the bar, especially during the summer.

Many council members agreed that the problem may be bigger than the Taste Lounge, requiring stronger ordinances against loitering and other violations.

"It's not fair to Mr. Pryor to assume that every person on Good Hope Street came out of his bar," Spradling said. "Are there ordinances we need to look at to make it a little tougher for people to stand around? I don't think taking his liquor license is the appropriate solution."

Neumeyer spoke most strongly against the license renewal, saying it was not fair to the neighbors or police officers who must continually put up with noise, litter, fights and other disturbances.

"The rest of the city is doing without while the police are taking care of his place," Neumeyer said. "I will be voting no. If we vote to give this to him, we're going to send the wrong message out there."

Hetzel said after the meeting that the council did what it felt was best.

"It was a very tough decision for the city council," he said. "As we always do, we'll continue to do our job."