In The NewsTask Force: Adults Liable
Originally printed in The Westerly Sun
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Author: Emily Dupuis- A proposed ordinance penalizing adults for underage drinking on their property will face a public hearing Monday.
WESTERLY - Residents will have an opportunity next Monday to share their support, concerns or questions about an ordinance that would penalize adults for underage drinking on their property.
Town Councilors did not comment on the so-called social host ordinance at Monday's workshop, but unanimously agreed to move the matter forward a week to a public hearing. (Councilor Dick Anthony was not at the meeting.) If approved, the town law would hold adults liable for conducting, aiding, allowing or permitting a party at a residence where alcohol is served to minors. Under the proposal, the person with control of the property as an owner or renter, but not the landlord, would be responsible.
Violators would find themselves in Municipal Court facing an initial fine of $250. Second and third offenses within a one-year period would warrant fines of $500 and $1,000.
The Westerly Substance Abuse Task Force proposed the town law - which would be the first of its kind in a Rhode Island community - as part of its efforts to curb underage drinking.
The ordinance would reinforce an existing state law, under which prosecutions have been rare. The state prohibits adults from procuring or providing alcohol to minors and holds them criminally liable if they permit underage drinking in their residence or on their property.
An earlier version of the substance abuse task force's proposal, detailed in June, would have also held violators responsible for costs incurred by emergency personnel who respond to an underage drinking party or gathering. That provision has been removed from the proposal, after councilors expressed concerns.
In other business Monday, councilors authorized the town manager to enter into a $208,000 contract with Northern Construction Service, of Weymouth, Mass., to alter the Misquamicut water pumping station.
A new control panel is expected to be installed at the intersection of Fisherman and Kimball avenues in August and be up and running by September. The existing 15-foot-tall, concrete and steel station and underground pumps work, but have been described as obtrusive and unsightly by residents and councilors.
Northern Construction Service constructed the existing station in the spring of 2008 under a $2.3-million upgrade to the flood-prone beach area's drainage system.
Money remaining from a highway and drainage bond will be used to cover this project, expected to result in a less conspicuous, 5-foot-tall pump station control panel surrounded by plants and trees.