AUBURN – The next three months will be critical for the Midnight Blues Club and Restaurant in downtown Auburn.
A provisional special amusement permit effective Aug. 9 to Nov. 9 was approved unanimously by the Auburn City Council on Monday night. The agreement came following a workshop session with councilors, police department representatives and club owner Paul Morency that addressed a list of complaints including noise, fights and foul debris from patrons.
Provisions of the agreement for the Midnight Blues Club call for server training of the club’s staff by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, and there can be no marketing practices which encourage increased or immoderate consumption, such as oversized drinks, double shots of spirits, drinking contests or volume discounts. Cleanup in front of neighboring businesses each night also will be required.
Staff and monitors, commonly called bouncers, will be required to keep better control of patrons at closing time and when people are on the street for smoke breaks. The club must pay for police officers on the premises and must maintain monitors at each entrance and exit, as well as a monitor for every 50 patrols.
At the council meeting public hearing, several people voiced support for Morency. They pointed out the establishment’s positive effect on city taxes and salaries to employees. Kevin Kimball of Lisbon Falls, an officer of the Maine Blues Society, praised Morency’s role in providing a vital and “family friendly” venue for blues performers in Maine.
Auburn Mayor Normand Guay said the agreement reached in the workshop session shows that “no one wants him out of business. We want to see his business flourish.”
City Manager Pat Finnigan emphasized that “this is a creative solution to these problems and it comes with responsibility” for Morency. Finnigan added that other clubs in Auburn have not experienced similar problems, and she noted that the agreement might serve as a valuable “template” for control of nightclubs or other establishments in Auburn that serve liquor.
Monday night’s council meeting also marked the first time new Auburn police officers took their oath of office at a public session. The Auburn Hall council chambers were filled for the occasion with family members and friends of six new officers.
They are Shawn Carll, David Madore, Matthey Tifft, Anthony Gray, Adam Martin and Bernice Mowatt. Carll, Madore and Tifft leave for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy on Aug. 15. The other three officers are May 27 graduates of the academy.
Administering the oaths were Auburn Police Chief Richard Small, Deputy Police Chief Phil Crowell and City Clerk Mary Lou Magno.
In other business, the council approved in first reading the issuance and sale of capital improvement bonds in the amount of $5 million.
The council approved the 2005-06 tax commitment of $42,005,281, and Finnigan said taxpayers can expect to see little change in their tax bills set to be mailed on Friday, Aug. 5. She also said new tax valuations will be mailed the last week of September.
A $1,757,362 loan through the state School Revolving Renovation Fund also was approved, and Finnigan said $740,000 of the loan will be forgiven.
An amendment to the Guidelines for the Lead Hazard Control Program of rent restrictions from three years to two years was approved and the council voted to accept a 110-foot section at the end of the present Paul Street.
A workshop session on the proposed new Auburn City Charter will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 8, in the council chambers.
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