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Council signals support for allowing distilled spirits at indoor recreation rentals with safety conditions
Summary
Parks staff proposed removing the 15% ABV limit for indoor, recreation-focused city rentals (The Mill and similar future spaces) in exchange for requirements including substantial food service, trained Class 13 servers, and liquor-liability insurance; councilmembers expressed informal support and asked staff to monitor impacts.
Tanya Woolridge, a recreation specialist for Lake Stevens Parks and Recreation, asked the council for consensus to change the city’s alcohol-at-events policy so that the 15% ABV restriction would be removed for indoor, recreation-focused city rentals.
Woolridge said the proposed change would "remove the 15% restriction indoors only" and would rephrase the policy to apply to "events inside city buildings for recreational use" so the policy would also cover future recreation spaces rather than only The Mill. She said the proposal came from a citizen request for an event wanting to serve mixed drinks at a fundraiser and that the draft policy follows "WCIA best practices" and Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board regulations.
Under the proposed approach, staff said permits for events serving spirits would require substantial food service and the presence of Class 13 servers (21-plus staff who have completed mandatory alcohol training, described by staff as roughly $20 and valid for five years). Woolridge said the city routes alcohol permits to the mayor or the mayor’s designee for approval.
On insurance and risk management, staff said the city currently requests a commercial liability policy and liquor-liability coverage for rentals; in the presentation staff described requests in the form "2,000,000, 1 million" in the discussion and said they are coordinating with WCIA risk-management guidance to align liability requirements with state best practices. Staff also said police and other departments reviewed the change; the city’s police chief (unnamed in the transcript) said his department has not observed a specific relationship between hard liquor and increased incidents at events in the city and that existing patrols had not produced alcohol-related problems at Mill rentals during the period staff examined.
Councilmembers offered informal support but asked staff to continue monitoring. One councilmember suggested confirming senior-center views before applying the change to other city-owned indoor recreation facilities; staff said they had not yet consulted the senior center but that it had previously discussed the topic in its own meetings. Councilmembers also asked about enforcement, cleanup and security deposits; staff said deposits have been increased for alcohol events and the department directs renters to WCIA-provided vendors for required policies as well as allowing private providers.
Woolridge said the change would not cost the city and could generate additional rental revenue by making The Mill more competitive for fundraisers and other events. The council did not take a formal vote but several members individually said they agreed with the change and asked staff to track outcomes and return if problems emerge.
Ending: Staff will update the policy language and proceed with next steps for administrative implementation and interdepartmental coordination; council gave informal consensus to proceed with the proposed indoor, recreation-focused change subject to continued monitoring.
