Politics & Government

Kinnelon to Hold Special Meeting on Underage Drinking Ordinance

Council hopes to gain more public input on introduced ordinance.

After receiving mixed reactions from residents, the has decided to hold a special meeting on July 12 to gain more public input on an introduced ordinance that would penalize underage drinkers found in possession of or consuming alcohol on private property.

The at the council's regular May meeting after Chief of Police John Finkle earlier that month. Under the ordinance, if a person who is under 21 years of age is found to be drinking or possessing alcohol on private property, they could face a fine, starting at $250 and increasing depending on the number of offenses. Additionally, a judge could revoke the person's driver's license. 

During Thursday's workshop meeting, Borough Attorney Mark Madaio said he made a minor change to the ordinance that vaguely implies that the person's license could be revoked if the drinking incident takes place in relation to a motor vehicle. For example, he said, this could include if underage drinkers were taking a keg out of a car to go to a party, or if an underage drinker was sitting on the hood of a car while the key was in the ignition.

Find out what's happening in Tri-Borowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"At earlier meetings, some people felt the ordinance [the chief] gave us didn't offer a judge enough wiggle room," Madaio said. Previously, Councilman Ron Mondello raised concerns about the clause which said that penalties could include revocation of an underage drinker's license because he said it seemed a bit harsh if the situation were simply a person under 21 having a drink in his backyard with a friend.

Madaio said he purposely left the language vague in the modification so that a judge could determine whether he or she felt revocation of the person's license was an appropriate penalty.

Find out what's happening in Tri-Borowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It made it not seem mandatory but still made it pretty clear," he said.

Councilman Gary Moleta said he agrees with the change and the penalties the ordinance creates, adding that he believes the ordinance could save lives of underage drinkers.

But Councilman Andrew SanFilippo said his biggest concern, and one he said he has heard from dozens of residents who have called him, is that parents feel that if their children are drinking on their private property, they should be the ones to deal with the issue.

Madaio said the ordinance will be received by two groups of people—the ones who feel it is acceptable for those underage to drink on their own property, as they would rather have them drink there, where they can collect the keys and not be driving, and the group of people who feel that it is never acceptable to drink if you are not 21 years or older.

Councilman Stephen Cobell said he also received a phone call from a resident.

"Their concern was, how do you tie the parents into this?" he asked.

Madaio explained that ideally, the threat of having the person's license potentially taken away would force parents to get involved in ensuring the person does not continue to drink or posses alcohol while underage.

Councilman Jim Freda said he plans to vote against the ordinance and described it as "another way for the big guy to take money from the residents."

Instead of fining the students, which several councilmembers agreed would most likely become the burden of the underage drinkers' parents, SanFilippo recommended the offenders complete community service instead, although Madaio was unsure of the legality of entering that into the ordinance, as it is not currently included in the state law, which the local ordinance is modeled after.

"If you're going to make a consequence for the kid, make it for the kid," SanFilippo said.

Moleta also said community service could potentially become more of a liability for the borough if the projects needed to be supervised by borough employees and if the offender were to accidentally be injured while participating. Still, Moleta said he thinks something must be done to curb underage drinking in the community.

"[Alcohol] is an inherent danger in our community," he said.

Mayor Bob Collins recommended the council discuss the ordinance further in a special meeting to gain even more input from the public, and to show that the council is considering every aspect of the issue.

"There's a lack of understanding right now," Collins said. "We're not going to make somebody happy here."

The meeting is scheduled for July 12 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kinnelon High School auditorium. You can read the actual ordinance here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here