More on Iowa City bars' liquor licenses

IOWA CITY - The City Council showed Tuesday night that it is serious about cracking down on problem bars.

The council voted to deny liquor license renewals for two downtown bars, Etc. and the Fieldhouse, for having too many underage patrons ticketed for possession of alcohol.  Such a citation typically is referred to as a PAULA (Possession of Alcohol Under the Legal Age).

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Council members weren't impressed with some of the arguments made by representatives of the bars.

Etc. attorney Steve Ballard noted that the bar's PAULA rate had decreased since the council approved new liquor license guidelines in February. Each liquor license holder has to renew its license once a year, and those renewals occur throughout the year. Ballard said all bars should be given a year to adjust to the new rules.

That prompted council member Mike Wright to say it sounded like bar owners only listen when the council wields a "big stick." Mayor Regenia Bailey echoed that and asked Ballard, "So you only take PAULAs seriously when it factors into a license renewal?"

Not at all, Ballard said. His point was, bars that renew later this year or early next will have had more time than Etc. had to take the new guidelines into consideration.

Council member Connie Champion didn't take to that either. "They're not going to blame me for losing their licenses," she said of bar owners.