The Committee of the Whole approved on first reading Monday an amendment to the Grand Forks city code that changes administrative penalties for businesses that violate alcohol-sales rules and moves certain suspension penalties from a second to a third violation within a 12-month look-back period. The committee also instructed staff to proceed with the ordinance as amended.

City staff member Mark Gostad (presenting) explained the ordinance was revised after comparisons with other regional cities and discussions with police to target a 12-month look-back. Under the proposed code, a first violation would carry a monetary penalty only; a second violation within 12 months would raise the monetary penalty; a third violation within 12 months would trigger a suspension of up to 24 hours (imposed in 8-hour increments under the present draft); a later, more serious offense escalates suspension length up to multiple days and, for certain sales-to-minors violations, could lead to license revocation and municipal criminal charges for the individual server. Gostad said council would retain the right to hold a hearing and impose further penalties.

Public comments and committee discussion focused on the effect of suspension penalties on small businesses and the quality of mandatory server training. Several local licensees urged moving suspension penalties from the second to the third offense, arguing that employees — often part-time or younger workers — can make isolated mistakes and that brief suspensions can be crippling for businesses that rely on alcohol sales. “If it happens the third time, I won’t be there to come back,” a downtown bar owner said, urging the council to protect businesses from overly punitive suspension timing.

Officer Sampson, who oversees alcohol compliance checks for the police department, said the city switched to online server training under capacity constraints and that in-person training was curtailed by staffing limits. He said the online program (hosted by a third-party vendor) is significantly cheaper than other in-person options and that compliance checks are grant-funded and therefore vary by year; thanks to a current public-health grant, he said the police can catch all establishments up on checks in 2025. He also said compliance checks are intended to be educational on first offenses.

Councilmembers indicated support for the staff proposal but agreed with business speakers to move the administrative suspension to the third offense; Councilmember Osowski moved to advance the ordinance with that modification and another council member seconded. The motion passed unanimously on first reading. The ordinance maintains criminal penalties for individual servers under the municipal code and preserves a cure process and the opportunity for licensees to appeal administrative actions to the mayor or the full council.

The committee discussed but did not decide on changes to how mandatory server training is delivered; several members and business owners favored restoring an in-person training option or ensuring online training requires viewing rather than allowing rapid skipping. Officer Sampson said he had updated online materials two years earlier and that the Safety Council offers an in-person course at a higher cost. The committee did not set a timeline for implementing any changes to training delivery.