New Shoreham grants late Halloween event license with ban on alcohol, subject to police and fire sign-off

The New Shoreham Town Council on Oct. 21 granted an appeal by Neil Murphy for a late special-event license for a Halloween event on Oct. 31 at 508 Old Town Road, approving the event with two conditions: no alcohol may be served, and final approval is contingent on sign-off by the chief of police and the fire chief.

Council members moved to approve the application after hearing concerns from Paul, the interim chief of police, who said police staffing was limited and recalled widespread open-container drinking and crowd-control problems at the event last year. "My guys are burnt out," Paul said, outlining that officers were already stretched and that he had concerns about attendees' intoxication levels and public-safety risks.

Nick Solitro, the town solicitor and prosecutor, advised the council that it had authority under the town ordinance to condition a special-event license on a prohibition of liquor service, provided no state-issued license (for example, a DBR license) applied. "You could condition the granting of your special event license on there being no liquor being served at that event," Solitro told the council, and he asked the chief to confirm whether any state license existed for the applicant.

Council members emphasized they did not want to cancel Halloween for children, but several said public-safety assurances were required. The motion the council approved stipulated both the no-alcohol condition and that the approval was contingent on the chief of police and the fire chief confirming staffing and safety arrangements. The council voted in favor and the appeal was granted.

The approval may still be withdrawn if the police or fire chief withhold sign-off; the council also asked that the applicant work with police and fire staff to resolve outstanding questions about parking, road closure logistics and operational details before the event.