The process and path taken on the evening, one that probably will be a surprise for those who opposed the proposed lounge for Fraser Street.
The decision one that after a one month deferral, suddenly lurched the review forward, coming after an avalanche of letters in support for the launch of a new establishment for the downtown core.
The first note of movement for the referral came from the publication of the Agenda and notice in the Consent Agenda of a large volume of letters in support of the project assembled for the councillors review for the night.
"I'm one of the partners in Port City Spirits which is coming to you for a lounge area licence discussion tonight and decision ...
Just a few comments, the endorsement for a lounge area was brought to Council on May 9th and its wisdom Council decided to delay the decision for a few weeks to allow for public outreach and comment.
We believe that the fifty letters of support, including letters from the Chamber of Commerce, from hoteliers and restaurants, Kitkatla enterprises, as well as dozens of residents are testimony to not only that the public outreach was conducted but that it concluded that there was strong support for a lounge licence.
In addition, we heard the comments and the concerns of residents and we reached out to the management of Friendship House who expressed no concerns with our proposed hours, location or expressed business purposes.
We have also contacted our Fraser Street neighbours who also expressed no concerns and wished us well on our venture.
But to make it 100 percent clear to Council and also to the public, our intent at Port City Spirits is to create premium spirits and cocktails from local ingredients.
Our summer hours reflect our interest in participating in next years Cruise Season as a registered shore excursion program and to do so responsibly and safely.
We have a short term rental that's above the distillery which is part of our business and so we are as sensitive to noise as the residents of Borden and Fraser Street.
We are equally sensitive to drinking and driving, so we will also be encouraging our patrons to walk, bike and taxi to the distillery"
Mr. Farrell also observed that Port City Spirits had attended a recent workshop on parking with city staff and continue to work with them on a parking plan for the establishment.
Through the course of the public comment period others would join in on the conversation, with two in favour, one against the licence referral.
The focus for Council's further attention on the night came from a comment from Councillor Wade Niesh who sought some clarity on what was next for the process, first noting that he had thought that the referral question would be brought back on June 26th.
After further guidance from the Corporate Administrator, the Councillor then shifted what had been his original focus, instead recommending that the Council decision be moved to the current session on the night.
A motion that was approved by the remainder of council.
Towards that discussion, all of the Council members supported the request for the licence referral, the lack of much in the way of public comment against, other than that of the previous council sessions seemingly the deciding factor.
"You know this is what we're trying to do, we're trying to rebuild our downtown and we need people and businesses to do it and I'm supportive of business that are wanting to make Prince Rupert a better experience.
Because you know I was walking around downtown one day during a cruise ship and there's people with a map, looking around and they were going this is kind of boring and that's not what I want to hear.
I want people to use different businesses and go to these different places and have a good experience and I think that this operation is not a typical you know drinking establishment where you know maybe one would watch a stripper at 12 o'clock during the day and encourage people to you know drink heavily during the day.
So I feel this offering a good experience for people wanting to come off a cruise ship and I feel that the local people that will be using this facility will be in full enjoyment of it and I fully support it" -- Councillor Wade Niesh
Councillor Cunningham observed of what he called the broad support the referral has received and noted of his own research along Fraser Street and he did not find any opposition to the proposed lounge and noted of the positivity for the project following the call for more comments adding that it would improve the area.
Councillor Teri Forster noted that no one that uses the Day Care centre had any concerns towards the proposal.
"The very first meeting we heard from quite a few people that were against it leading up to the meeting as well and a key concern I heard was that people were concerned that they didn't have enough time to give feedback.
And what I've heard through the questions tonight is that we didn't receive any letters from parents of children in the daycare, or from the daycares themselves.
Which to me indicates there is support amongst the community ... and so to me I don't think we can do anything but support this project"
Councillor Nick Adey acknowledged the level of support for the proponents as well as some of the concern on addictions and alcohol for many in the community.
"I recognize that there has been a pretty extensive and broad expression of support for this.
And people have expressed that in different ways and I do think that matters in terms of the deliberations that a Council will make on an issue.
We are here to represent, as best we can the Majority views.
So from that perspective I echo some of those comments.
But I do want to just balance it a little bit and that is one of the core arguments that come out as a concerns has to do with alcohol and addictions.
You can drive around town and you can see the devastating impact of that on people, it's not hard to find and so I just want to acknowledge, even as I'm from the sort of Council perspective, supporting a project that appears to have overwhelming support.
I want to acknowledge that the concern related to alcohol is legitimate and valid and I think we have to acknowledge that"
Councillors Skelton-Morven and Councillor Randhawa also spoke to offer their support towards the licence referral.
While it's not a surprise that Council wanted to move the process ahead after the more than one month long delay since it first came up for review. The level of support that the proponents were able to summon also left Council with much to go with towards an approval.
However, the decision that was made in the midst of the meeting that seemingly moved the process to the final vote, without any previous notice on the Agenda or elsewhere how that would be the case for the night, will be of some concern for those who had expressed opposition to the licence referral.
It is also likely to be a move that will serve to spur more commentary on how council handles its process for such public consultations.
More towards Monday's discussion can be reviewed from our Council Timeline feature.
The range of commentary towards the topic on Monday can be reviewed from the City's video archive:
Mr. Farell speaks to the topic starting at the 11 minute mark, with comments both pro and con to follow during that public comment period.
The council members discuss the issue and then approve their referral plans at the one hour mark of the night.
Our preview of the topic on Monday provides notes related to the volume o letters of support for the venture as well as an archive of some of the recent history towards the Port City Spirits process.
More notes on other themes from the Monday council session can be reviewed from our Council Session archive.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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