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From: Jon Costas [mailto:mayorcostas@netnitco.net]
Sent: Sunday, September 18, 2005 7:56 PM
Subject: RE: The Popcorn Fiasco-val


I apologize for the tardiness of my reply. It was a crazy week and I just never got to respond to emails very well. I have, however, made quite a bit of progress on this matter. First let me report to you what has transpired and then I will respond to the issues you raised in your last email.

On Monday morning, I met with Roger and Wendi from Northside as well as our Fire Chief Dave Nondorf and Bruce Leetz from North Coast Distributing. They bascially told me what happened and Wendi specificially said that the main agent said he was here at my request, among other statements. Later that day, I had a legnthy phone conversation with Officer Taylor, the main agent, and he denied "on a stack of Bibles" that he said no such things and that they were there purley on thier own accord. He stated that they came to check out minor consumption and started checking permits when they witnessed a number of infracttions. They then felt compelled to check a most of the taverns to make sure they were in compliance. He described the situation at Northside as very volitile. Ia asked Officer Taylor to have a meeting with Roger and the other affected establishements and nonprofits for a face to face debriefing, which he agreed to, and which is set for early October at city hall. Roger and Wendi will be there as well as most the others.

I also had a conversation with Dave Heath the director of the Alcoholic Beverige Commission about the situation. He, too, will attend the meeting at city hall. I shared with him the various concerns I had and he was very receptive.

Here are my reponses to your concerns.

1. I have not opposed the serving of alcohol outside at the popcorn, and no changes were made to the policy which is almost unrestricted. I do however, feel that the best solution is to limit it to certain areas at the festival rather than have it completely unrestricted. The trick is to find the balance between keeping it family and kid friendly and still have the opportunit for adults to enjoy the beveriges of their choice. This works well at the Venetian Festival in St. Joe, MI as an example.

2. This is simply not the truth and has been denied by the agent in charge. I don't know who to believe, but there were more than a few witnesses who say he said it. Whether he said it or not, it is not the truth.

3. Our police and fire did an outstanding job at Northside (per Wendi) and kept the peace. The excise police have complete jurisdiction over the serving of alcohol according to Indiana law. And things happened pretty quick that day, especially at Northside.

4. If our police and fire did not respond to the situatioin, it would have been a lot worse. Again, Roger and Wendi said they were excellent. Its imperative they respond to such a situation to keep the peace and protect the wellbeing of our citizens.

Again, I apologize for my delay. But I wanted to respond thoroughly because I know you are very concerned about the situation. Let me know if you would like more information, or if you have any suggestions for avoiding this in the future.

Best Regards, Jon

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