Silver Dome Liquor License Drama
State Patrol Against Renewal

Town of Silver Cliff Board of Trustees Meeting
—Monday, November 5, 2018
SILVER CLIFF, Colo.
by Lisa Frank

The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. The Mayor and all Trustees except one were in attendance. The attendees were acknowledged by name and residence and it was a packed room. The Consent Agenda (consisting of the approval of October’s regular and special meeting minutes, the Treasurer’s report and approval of bills) was passed.

a. Senior Center Update: There was no one there to report.
b. Viscount Update: Roger Camper reported that there was nothing new to report.
c. Ideas for increasing revenue: Christy Doon from DOLA was here for a meeting October 29, 2018, to help the Town Board Trustees, Planning Commission members and Zoning Committee members organize and prioritize 2018’s goals moving forward into 2019.
New Business
a. Consideration of approval of the liquor license renewal for the Silver Dome Saloon (SDS): This agenda item packed the room and almost everyone had something to say.
The first person to speak at the podium was Troop 2A State Patrolman Captain Rich Smith who stated there had been 13 DUIs written over the past two years that originated from the Silver Dome. He said that for a small county this was a very high number attributed to a single establishment and he requested that the town not renew the Silver Dome’s liquor license. He also stated that if the liquor license were reissued, it be issued to someone other than the Behrendt’s. This is when the meeting came to life and several persons took to the podium to speak in favor of the Silver Dome and offered ideas that might lessen the danger of a DUI driver.
The second person to speak was Custer County Sheriff, Shannon Byerly. He stated that a recent meeting between the owner of the Dome and the Sheriff’s Office (SO) was held. He said that previously reported violations and other issues were discussed and that it had been very productive. Both he and Mary Behrendt, who was in attendance, agreed that the meeting was helpful. Sheriff Byerly wanted the town to know that the number of violations attributed to the Dome in the SO quarterly reports were somewhat misleading because some of those “violations” had been reorted from the Silver Dome and shouldn’t have been considered violations exactly. He said in all cases it was either the owner or a server who called the SO to report a problem and a
violation was then inaccurately noted by his office. The Sheriff felt that the Silver Dome was not purposefully over serving their patrons.
One attendee with a medical background spoke of witnessing the horror of drunk-driving accidents and seemed to place the responsibility for the horror on those establishments that serve alcohol. Another attendee wondered about the seeming lack of accountability from the Court toward offenders. Several attendees mentioned that the Silver Dome Saloon is a valley icon that has faithfully served locals and tourists for 34 years without problem. Mary Behrendt pleaded with the Town Board not to blame every problem on her establishment simply because the Dome is the last place open. She also offered to be there every night and said she would personally drive anyone incapable of driving, home. The Sheriff had to step in more than once to correct the perception that DUIs are only coming from the Dome; that in 2017 over 30 DUIs were issued in the County, and that maybe we need to recognize there is a problem with alcohol and drugs not just in Custer County but in society as a whole. This seemed to generate the idea of shared responsibility in a county that is growing, in a State that has legalized the use of recreational marijuana, which according to Medical News Today is known to adversely affect balance, coordination and reaction time, making it unsafe to drive a vehicle. There was talk of the inability of employees that serve alcohol (a legal beverage) to accurately know when a person is inebriated. There was talk of purchasing “blow and go” items for the bar to test patrons ability to drive and then talk of what legal right does an establishment have to test persons. It was noted the Dome and its employees are State-compliant in training and compliant with the Health Department. The conversation to save lives could have gone on forever but a Town Trustee spoke up in order to recuse himself from the vote, stating two reasons. First because of his job as a deputy, and second because his wife was recently in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. The room was suddenly very sober but a vote had to be taken. A Trustee asked if the liquor license could be approved for six months on a probationary period. The Town Clerk stated that liquor licenses are approved locally and then go to the State for approval for one year and renew each year, but the Town could revoke an establishment’s license at any time for breaking the law. The Sheriff spoke one last time and reminded the Town Board that the power to influence is in their hands. That Silver Cliff, Westcliffe and Custer County could require liquor licensees to participate in a “Board” or association which would function to keep abreast of any alcohol related issues in the county, work together to address the numerous DUI’s, and participate in idea sharing as a partnership in solving issues. He said that the Sheriff’s Office would welcome this kind of help and would join in to help Custer County solve a growing problem where lives are at risk. Ride shares, local inter-business involvement and information-sharing or training could come from this group and could also include citizens willing to help.
When it came time to vote, of the seven members of the Board of Trustees, one was absent, one recused himself and of the remaining five, one motioned to approve, one motioned to approve “with conditions” and one voted not to approve the license revnewal request. The final vote was three in favor, one opposed, one in favor with conditions.
b. OEM FEMA’S Hazard Management Grant Program (HMGP) Post-Fire Program Presentation: Cindy Howard of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) reported on Colorado’s Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management application process for a FEMA-funded, post-fire program granted to the State of Colorado as a single grant. Funding priority is for projects in Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) declared counties that participated in, and adopted a FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). Custer County is one of five eligible counties and each town and the County can apply individually. Silver Cliff is considering applying for fire-mitigation in Silver Cliff Ranch and additional properties within or near the Town’s boundary. Requirements are there must be a structure on the property, roughly 10 owners who want to participate and the application in by December 21, 2018. FEMA is encouraging projects that address wildfire-related impacts such as flooding and erosion control in upstream watershed areas. Important to note is that the FMAG designated counties do not automatically receive HMGP post-fire funding, they must submit a programmatically eligible, positive Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) qualified project with a well-defined scope, budget and project schedule. Recognizing the extensive work involved with the deadline looming, Howard suggested the Town apply for an extension on applying and this was approved by The Board.
c. Consideration of approval of Proposal from Scott Rowley for Street Maintenance/Snow Removal part-time position: This motion passed unanimously. The Town expects to fill the vacant Town Man position starting in January of 2019.
d. Consideration of purchasing Chromebooks for the Board of Trustees and Planning Commission Members: This was presented as dollar-neutral by eliminating one phone line, several routers and the low purchase price negotiated by Trustee Lisa Guarnere.
Motion passed unanimously.
e. Consideration of approval of Prairie Dog quote from USDA: Silver Cliff’s cost quote from Shane Coil is $400. Motion passed unanimously.
Staff Reports/Committee Reports/Public Comments/Board of Trustees Open Discussion
This reporter had to leave the meeting as it was after 8:40 p.m.