Parks panel considers alcohol permit
Alcohol could be served with a permit in Riverstone Park under a proposal to be considered tonight by the Coeur d’Alene Parks and Recreation Commission.
The proposal would allow event-specific alcohol permits to be issued for activities in Riverstone Park only; the permits would not apply to any other parks.
“The idea is that we’ll give a test for a couple years to see how it works, (then) we’ll look at curtailing or expanding it,” said commission member Mike McDowell.
Permit fees would vary depending on the length of the event and whether the event is catered and alcohol is sold, according to a report from parks director Doug Eastwood. The proposed base fee is $300, and additional security permits range from $50 to $280. The commission will also consider several fee increases, including increasing the fee for the City Park Bandshell from $50 to $100. The City Council has final say.
The Police Department determined the Riverstone Park would be a good testing area because the area can easily be monitored, McDowell said. Police said areas like City Park and other sports fields would be too difficult to patrol, according to Eastwood’s report.
“It’d be in an area that could be controlled,” said commission vice chairman Scott Cranston. “With the amphitheater facility there, there’s opportunities for things like a concert series, weddings or other types of festivals.”
The city has heard from residents over the year who would like the option of serving alcohol at park events, McDowell said.
“We thought maybe there should be kind of a test case run to see if there is something that kind of meets the needs of the citizens,” he said.
The commission hasn’t voted on such a proposal recently, but parks staff has talked about allowing alcohol on city land before, Cranston said.
“It got quite a bit of the community’s reaction to it, and it was very negative,” he said. “The impression from the community was that we would be considering this for the entire park network, and I don’t think that was the case.”