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Palmyra Council advances draft skill-games ordinance to solicitor for review, seeks clearer enforcement language
Summary
Council members discussed an ordinance to regulate games of skill, keeping machines in private clubs and certain veterans organizations and proposing annual terminal fees and penalties; council directed the solicitor to review and convert the draft into formal ordinance language and asked for tighter enforcement provisions.
Palmyra Borough Councilors agreed to send a draft ordinance regulating electronic skill games to the borough solicitor for review and formal ordinance drafting, while asking staff to tighten enforcement language and consider impacts on private clubs.
Councilor Marjorie Bridal presented the draft ordinance, saying it would not ban skill games but would regulate where they may operate and require businesses to implement age verification and terminal registration. “This does not ban skill games in the borough,” Bridal said, adding the draft would keep games largely in liquor-license establishments and nationally recognized veterans organizations like the American Legion and VFW and require an age-verification system on machines.
Bridal told council the draft sets a $100 annual terminal fee and a maximum civil penalty of up to $500 per day for violations; other speakers noted existing borough amusement- and jukebox-tax schedules that currently charge smaller fees ($15 for a jukebox and $35 for other machines) and asked staff to ensure the new fee structure would not double-charge businesses.
Council members raised enforcement concerns. A staff member and other councilors worried about relying on the codes officer for after-hours enforcement; councilors suggested police would respond to incidents occurring outside the codes officer’s hours. One councilor asked the solicitor to “tighten up” section 5 (enforcement and penalties) to define what constitutes a repeat or willful violation and how revocation of rights would be applied.
Ryan Kelly, speaking during public comment, urged the council to consider zoning changes as a parallel track. Kelly, who said he sits on the zoning board, explained that in some commercial zoning districts skill games are allowed by special exception—an approval that currently provides the zoning board little legal basis to deny an application. “If you removed it as allowed by special exception, they would have to be asking for a complete use variance,” Kelly said, adding that a variance review would give the borough more grounds to attach conditions or deny a use.
Councilors asked the solicitor (name not provided in the record) to convert the draft to ordinance form and return comments. Councilors also asked staff to review whether the definitions in the draft align with existing borough code and to evaluate possible effects on the amusement tax and private clubs. The council did not adopt the ordinance at the meeting; the action was a referral to the solicitor and further staff review.
