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Orono Town Council convened for a special session Monday, Feb. 23 and approved the liquor license and special entertainment permit renewals for the dance club 103 Ultra Lounge. The council debated the approvals two weeks earlier for nearly an hour and a half.
Ultra Lounge owner Robbie Snow’s lack of preparation at the initial hearing led to the items being tabled – that evening was the first time Snow had seen the comprehensive police report detailing 84 illegal incidents, including violence, over-intoxication and the questionable presence of minors – an increase from 65 incidents the year before.
“He has to prove that he can operate within the provisions of his license,” said Council Chairman Geoff Gordon before the meeting. Questions of Snow’s management lingered from the last council discussion.
Gordon’s vote was the only dissent in a 5-1 pass for the liquor license. The special entertainment permit passed unanimously. Councilwoman Cynthia Mehnert was not present.
Snow said he was nervous before the meeting. He visited establishments similar to Ultra Lounge in Sabattus and Auburn, Maine, and Manchester, N.H., and “got a feel for what they’re doing,” in addition to meeting with Chief of Police Gary Duquette on Thursday, Feb. 19.
Snow opened by apologizing for his unpreparedness at the original license hearing.
“I should have been speaking with the chief before that. He would’ve been able to better inform me,” Snow said.
“I want to apologize if I wasted your time. But I can do better; I will do better.”
His improvement plan included what Councilwoman Lianne Harris counted as eight individual strategies to improve management and reduce incidents. She encouraged Snow to return to the council to report his future progress.
“I feel this is good work. This is definitely a plan, which is what I was looking for,” Harris said.
Snow spoke for 10 minutes about his new strategies. He hired a Bangor security company and adjusted one of his staff positions to monitor the parking lot full-time.
Snow plans to attend management training in Las Vegas from March 1 to 4. He is signed up for courses including “responsible service training for the new millennium” and “age verification today.”
Snow spent $750 to repair Ultra Lounge’s surveillance system. He created a diagram of the surveillance of the facility and provided it to both Duquette and the council.
Until recently, only bartenders at Ultra Lounge had undergone Training for Intervention Procedures (TIPS), the “global leader in education and training for the responsible service, sale and consumption of alcohol,” according to gettips.com. Snow will mandate for all his employees to become TIPS trained at a session with local group River Coalition on March 22.
“My doormen [and] personnel are going to have a better idea of those signs [of over-intoxication] to look for. I will stress the importance to removing anyone that they even feel should not be there,” Snow said.
“I would think it’d be a lot more powerful if you said, ‘I’m gonna fire you’re a– if you’ve got drunk people in here, because I’m gonna lose my license,’” said Councilman Mark Haggerty.
Snow said even with his high staff turnover, his employees would remain TIPS trained. He said he would provide the council with verification of the full staff’s training.
“We really want you to be a successful business, but there’s this big responsibility that goes along with that,” Haggerty said.
In the month-long meantime until TIPS training has been given to all employees, Snow plans to cooperate more closely with the Orono Police Department to make up for his untrained staff.
Snow installed four wireless telephones for communication between his staff and for greater ease in contacting Orono police. Snow utilized the system this past weekend and estimated two to three calls to Orono police.
“I went and printed out the liquor license,” Snow said, holding up an inch-thick stack of documents. His knowledge of his license was a point of contention at the initial hearing. He clarified that he had studied it and verified that patrons under 21 are allowed under the provisions of the restaurant side of his business.
Snow and Duquette agreed Saturday nights are “definitely not a place for anyone under the age of 18,” Snow said.
“But I think that it’s important for the 18-, 19-, 20-year-old crowd to be able to go out,” Snow said. “These are still college kids. I don’t want to limit them. I don’t want to say no one under the age of 21 is not allowed on a Saturday. Their time, I believe, is better spent at the club than, say, at a fraternity or sorority party, where there’s no sense of guidance.”
I don’t think we’re trying to turn you into a non-fun establishment, but I do think it’s important to use a little bit of safety and assistance,” Haggerty said.
Duquette’s analysis was that Snow had taken “a pretty good step in the right direction.”
“A lot of what you’ve said this afternoon encourages me,” said Councilman Tom Perry, adding that he hoped Snow would not lose focus of the importance of communication and training.
“Training isn’t something that happens once a year and then everything’s fine,” Perry said.
Snow acknowledged the council’s input.
“Eight heads is better than one,” Snow said. “I’m young; I’m new at this and trying my best. You guys have a lot more wisdom to offer me.”
“I really look forward to next year that we don’t have this discussion,” Haggerty said.
“I’m sure we won’t,” Snow said, acknowledging that “cooperation is the key” and saying he would maintain contact with Duquette.
“If there is any situation that arises, I hope to address it then, and not let anything fester and come to a point where there’s a bunch of problems that I need to fix,” Snow said.
After the meeting, Gordon said Snow’s plans for training and controlling over-intoxication were similar to promises made in previous years.
“I just wasn’t convinced that he’s the guy to manage the business,” Gordon said.
Snow has three years left in a five-year lease on the establishment.
“It’s still a lot of work. It’s still an uphill battle, doing the training, putting it to use,” Snow said after the meeting. “It’s definitely never going to be an easy process. I just need to get on my staff and really push them to do better.”
Bangor Daily News