CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM

Department:	City Attorney’s Office		Commission Meeting Date:  Feb. 19, 2019
Staff Contact:	Maria Garcia, Assistant City Attorney
Recommendations/Options/Action Requested:
Adopt on first reading Ordinance 9566, requiring liquor and cereal malt beverage licensees to participate in sexual violence training, if appropriate.
Executive Summary:		At its October 16, 2018 meeting, the City Commission considered requiring SafeBar sexual violence training as a condition of local licensure. The SafeBar training, which was created by the Care Center, is designed to educate licensees and their staff on sexual violence, and seeks to treat licensees as an ally in combating sexual violence by providing them with skills to intervene when sexual misconduct occurs. At the October meeting, the City Commission directed staff to continue its discussion with stakeholders and to return with a proposed ordinance with recommended action for Commission consideration. As a result, staff invited licensees (181 total) to two informal meetings – one on January 7 and the other on January 9 – to hear additional feedback about the proposed training. The meetings generated informative discussion. Approximately 30 people attended between the two meetings, but, in an attempt to garner as much input as possible, following the stakeholder meetings staff also sent out a Lawrence Listens survey to all licensees to invite additional comment. Nine (9) people responded to the survey, and the results are attached. Common themes among participants who provided feedback at the meetings include: 1) A strong desire for the proposed training to be voluntary rather than mandatory. Reasons for this include the difficulty in coordinating schedules and the cost of having staff attend. 2) There was concern among some licensees who are not bar or restaurant owners, but who still serve or sell alcohol, who believe such training does not and should not apply to their business. 3) A request that if such training is required, that licensees have the chance to select the trainer rather than having a mandate that it come from the Care Center. Consistent with the Commission’s direction to return with a proposed ordinance based upon staff’s continued conversations with licensees, Ordinance 9566 attempts to reconcile the Commission’s desire to implement the training with the licensees’ concerns for convenience, cost, and the ability to select the training provider. The ordinance mandates participation in training but does not require that the training be in-person. Rather, the training could be satisfied either by in-person participation, video recording, or webinar. The proposed ordinance does not require SafeBar training specifically, and instead is worded to require training on the prevention of sexual assault generally. Licensees could select the trainer, though the Care Center would still be an option. The City could provide a video and/or webinar training in conjunction with the Care Center as an option for licensees, and details of those alternatives are below. Video: At the January stakeholder meetings there was a significant amount of support for the idea of the City providing a videotaped “SafeBar” training. Staff proposes that such a video would be approximately 45 minutes long, would include Care Center representatives providing the training on-camera, and would be distributed to licensees to watch with their staff at a time most convenient for them. At the time of renewal, a licensee would simply provide an affidavit affirming that he or she viewed the video with staff. Advantages to a video include convenience, cost savings for both business owners and the City, and flexibility in re-watching the video when new staff come on board. Disadvantages include an inability for participants to ask questions and the interactive nature that in-person training provides. The approximate cost of videotaping raw footage and editing it would range from approximately $2,800 to $8,700. This does not include the cost of having a person or entity prepare content for the video. Webinar: There was also some support among licensees for a webinar training. Staff envisions this training being provided monthly or every 2-months to accommodate various schedules. The training would be approximately 45 minutes long. A significant advantage to the webinar is that participants could ask questions and have a more interactive discussion. At the conclusion of the webinar, participants could print a receipt or certificate to present to the City Clerk as proof of completion. The City would likely be able to obtain a webinar-providing service at little to no cost. This does not include the cost of having a person or entity prepare content for the video. The Care Center notes that training via video or webinar would not qualify as its formal SafeBar alliance training, which is generally done in-person, but it could offer some of the information taken from that alliance training. Cost If the City Commission desires to mandate sexual violence training, staff requests direction regarding how the cost of implementing this project will be handled. Staff requested an estimate from the Care Center on how much it would cost it to provide the training via video, webinar, or in-person and it was unable to do so, stating it would be prepared to discuss its SafeBar program more at the City Commission meeting. If the City Commission desires for the City to play a part in providing the training, options for addressing the cost may include absorbing the costs in existing licensure fees, though this will heavily depend on the format of training the Commission selects, its length, and location. Other options related to the City helping to provide the training would depend on a cost estimate from the Care Center, which we do not have at this time.   Alternatively, licensees could be required by ordinance to participate in the training, but would need to seek out and obtain sexual violence training without any involvement from the City for that training. The training would be a condition of licensure, but would not affect fees since the City would not provide it. Another option is for participation in sexual violence training to be voluntary only, such that the licensee who would like to participate would pay for the training from a provider selected by the licensee. Note that the City of Wichita requires training as a condition of licensure, but that training does not have sexual violence and intervention as its focus. Rather, the mandatory training is provided by the Wichita police department, which covers the responsibilities of serving alcohol and the licensing process, the fire department, which covers inspections and safety, and a representative from the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control, who covers state regulations including identifications and the use of fake IDs. According to an attorney for the City of Wichita, the training itself does not cost the city money so a similar discussion regarding cost was not entertained.  Correcting An Internal Reference Section 4-108, which sets out the requirements for obtaining local licensure from the City Clerk, states that an applicant must be in compliance with Section 4-112. This appears to be a typo, as Section 4-112 is a section on penalties, including revocation or suspension. Review of Chapter 4 as part of this project provides staff with an opportunity to correct the internal citation. The proposed ordinance corrects the reference by stating that a licensee must comply with Section 4-114, which is entitled “additional requirements for City licensure for private clubs and drinking establishments.” Informational Video Request Commissioner Ananda has requested that during the City Commission’s discussion of this matter a video be shown to provide context of the discussion. The entity that created the video states on its website that it is appropriate for people over the age of 15. The video portrays a bar setting and the consumption of alcohol, and may be upsetting to some. The video may be watched in full at http://www.whoareyou.co.nz/
Strategic Plan Critical Success Factor		Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Neighborhoods Commitment to Core Services Collaborative Solutions
Fiscal Impact (Amount/Source):		If training is mandated, there may be a fiscal impact to the City, though it is difficult to estimate what that is without an estimate from the Care Center and without knowing the format in which the training will be provided (in person, video, webinar). It would be possible to mandate the training by ordinance and require licensees to seek out and pay for the training themselves—rather than have the City help with the training/cost—then require proof of completion upon application or renewal.
Attachments:		Ordinance No. 9566 Sections 4-112 and 4-114 Correspondence

Reviewed By: (for CMO use only)

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