Watertown police describe enforcement checks after seven failures; council renews licenses, owners pledge more training

Chief Michael Toomey of the Watertown Police Department outlined the department’s alcohol compliance-check process and recent results during a multi-hour City Council hearing Monday that covered renewals for multiple liquor and malt-beverage licenses.

“To ensure compliance we typically do these checks two to four times a year,” Toomey said. He described the department’s procedure: officers recruit a volunteer aged 18–20, who is instructed to present a real ID and request service; the visits are recorded. Toomey said investigators avoid using minors under 18 so arrests are not required for enforcement checks.

Toomey said the March 19 compliance checks used a 20-year-old volunteer and resulted in seven failures. He framed the checks as part of a broader prevention strategy: "Juvenile, underage consumption is a huge social issue in our community... Over the past five years, our five‑year average, this last year, we were 41% over our five‑year average for underage consumption. We were 46% over our five‑year average for underage DUIs." He described serious incidents his department has investigated and urged retailers to use ID scanners, post clear signage and send staff to TAM/TIPS training.

Finance officer Kristin Bob Zine told the council state law requires licensees with violations to be removed from the consent agenda and given a public hearing at renewal. She said owners received notice and all fees had been paid for renewals on the agenda.

Owners and managers who appeared described the incidents as employee mistakes and outlined steps they have taken to reduce repeat failures. Examples included new point‑of‑sale configurations, mandatory TAM/TIPS or similar training, posting a date‑verification clock and stricter employee supervision. Conda Williams of The Prop (Stony Point) said she was the person who failed in her establishment and expressed remorse; several other owners pledged new or reinforced training programs.

City council members pressed for remedies beyond hearings. Councilman Danforth noted the city must balance due process for businesses with public safety. Councilman Jerns said the statistics indicate a problem that requires broader community action. Chief Toomey and multiple council members encouraged owners to contact police for free training resources; Toomey said community engagement staff and local partners can provide help.

Council votes: after the hearings the council renewed each license on the agenda. Renewals approved included Quick Stop LLC (Quick Stop), Winners Casino, Cowboy Country Store No. 3, Freedom Watertown, The Prop (Stony Point), Doxbar, Watertown Brewing Company, Sioux Valley Co-op, Midtown Smoke Shop & Casino, Dempsey’s Brew Pub (Shamrocks & Edelweiss Corp), and Mavericks Steak and Cocktails. Council handled the items with individual public hearings and voice votes; no license was revoked Monday.

Penalty and enforcement details discussed: Chief Toomey initially cited an employee civil fine amount ("$264.50") but the council and city staff also discussed state penalty structure for licensees and servers. City staff later summarized state fines and sanctions (examples discussed on the record): first violation within 24 months — $500 if server is TAM/TIPS trained, $1,000 if not trained; second violation within 24 months — $1,000 (trained) or $2,000 (not trained); third violation — possible 14‑day suspension; fourth violation — possible 45‑day suspension. The owners present said they had paid state fines where applicable and were implementing additional training or technical controls.

Council members said they would consider a separate, focused discussion on prevention strategies — enforcement checks are one tool among outreach, parent and school‑based prevention, business training, and signage — and encouraged owners to work with police and city staff on improvements.