Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointes

Officials take another look at alcohol in Community Center

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — It’s possible residents could be raising toasts before the end of the year at the Woods Community Center.

During an Aug. 16 City Council committee of the whole meeting, the council looked at a draft of new guidelines that would permit and also regulate the use of alcohol for functions in the center. Residents who rent one or multiple rooms at the center now cannot serve alcohol.

Council members debated whether to allow hard liquor, beer and wine, whether to allow beer kegs, and whether to charge a higher rate specifically for people serving alcohol at their gatherings or to charge a higher rate for all rentals. The informal council consensus was to allow hard liquor but not kegs, and to charge a flat rate for room rental.

Recreation Supervisor Missy Sharp said charging a different price for people serving alcohol could create problems if party hosts deny serving such beverages but bring them in anyway, leading to potential confrontations between community center workers and residents. Public Services Director Joseph Ahee concurred, saying the draft policy raised the security deposit and room rental price because people might try to sneak alcohol in if they were told they’d have to pay a separate surcharge to serve it. Officials say they proposed the higher rates because they’ll need to have an additional employee to monitor the center during gatherings.

City Council member Vicki Granger is in favor of allowing alcohol service at the center, but she expressed reservations about the increased rates. Mayor Robert Novitke seemed to express a similar sentiment, saying the city could raise rates later if there’s higher demand for the rooms.

“We think the Community Center is underutilized,” said Novitke, who feels allowing alcohol is “of benefit to our residents.”

City Council member Todd McConaghy said the policy needs to be simplified a bit and easy to enforce.

Although she agreed with the concept before, City Council member Lisa Pinkos Howle said she’s now having “second thoughts” about allowing alcohol to be served at the center. She said she’s heard from residents who are “not happy about it.”

Granger, on the other hand, said the residents she’s heard from on this issue “were delighted” that the city might offer this option. She said the Senior Citizens Commission asked about alcohol service in January, and the Beautification Commission also said they were in favor of the proposal.

Granger said the Community Center is “in a great position” to allow alcohol consumption.

“And Public Safety is 20 feet away if there’s a problem,” she added, noting that the department offices are adjacent to the center.

Granger said the city isn’t trying to compete with local halls for business.

“This just provides an option for residents similar to the option provided by the Park and Farms to residents at their community centers,” she said.

The council is likely to look at the proposed policy again at a future COW meeting. A COW meeting might be held after the Sept. 13 regular council meeting, although that hadn’t been determined at press time. The council could also consider the issue at its Sept. 27 COW meeting.