Underage Drinking Ordinance Vote Postponed Until September

Voting on the underage drinking ordinance the is considering will be postponed until September after a lower turnout than expected during a special meeting on the topic Tuesday.

The council decided Thursday to postpone voting on the ordinance to give the public the opportunity to come forward with opinions at five more meetings.

Several residents requested that the vote be pushed back Tuesday, claiming that families are on vacation and that many community members do not know enough about the ordinance, which would allow police to penalize those who are caught drinking and possessing alcohol underage. The but the council decided to wait 60 days and hold a special meeting on the subject to give the public more time to come forward. About 35 residents were present at

The ordinance being considered would impose fines and the possible suspension or loss of a driver's license to underage drinkers and those who are underage and are found to be in possession of alcohol on private property. On the first offense, the fine would be about $250. Currently, are able to penalize underage drinkers who are found to be in possession of alcohol on public property only.

"My concern is that something is going to happen," said Councilman Gary Moleta, the only council member who was not in favor of postponing the vote (Councilmen Jim Freda and Dan O'Dougherty were absent from Thursday's work session meeting). "I will not feel comfortable postponing this and just letting it wither away."

Councilman Stephen Cobell said that it is an important issue to the public and that since the council is thinking of the public while considering it, the public should have more time to speak on the subject when they are available.

"We, as a governing body, felt it was important enough to bring it to the public. We did it at a lousy time for the public," he said.

But Councilman Andrew SanFilippo said that the public has already had many opportunities to come forward. SanFilippo said that even though families had scheduled vacations, if it was an important enough issue to them, they would have come forward in the time the ordinance was posted on the borough's website or being discussed at prior meetings.

"I think enough is enough. I think it's time to move," he said.

After further discussion, however, SanFilippo changed his mind, stating that since police are currently able to enter private property if they believe underage drinking is ocurring, postponing the vote on the ordinance simply means postponing the addition of a consequence.

Councilman Ron Mondello agreed with Cobell that the council picked the wrong time for the public to hold the special meeting.

"I do feel that we weren't prudent with picking the middle of the summer," he said.

But Mayor Bob Collins said the council picked July to have the special meeting because they wanted to push it back just before 60 days from when the ordinance was introduced in May. Still, Collins agreed that it was important to give the public more time.

"It's a community issue," he said. "I think we owe it to the people."

The vote will be held on Sept. 15 at the council's regular meeting.