A comparison of police calls in the last three years to two bars across the street from each other shows that Foxy's Bar had nearly three times as many interactions with officers than Schooner Pub.
From 2009 until Foxy's closed in September, police records show 120 calls to the bar, with 54 of those calls being disorderly conduct, battery or fight/altercation.
Schooner Pub had a total of 44 calls from 2009 through November, with only 10 relating to disorderly conduct, battery or fight/altercation.
The history of police presence has further complicated efforts of hopeful business owner Troy Koput and manager Christian Zaja, who have been trying to launch Deville's Lounge in the space.
- Related: New Start at Former Foxy’s Location Encounters Snags
Port Washington Police Chief Kevin Hingiss and City Administrator Mark Grams have both recommended the denial of the retail alcohol beverage license needed to operate the business. Hingiss cited incidents in Zaja's background — including an OWI offense in 2006 and an after-hours incident in April another bar, The Spot — as well as a long list of calls to Foxy's over its years of operation in his report recommending the denial of a liquor license.
A sample of police calls to Foxy’s highlighted in Hingiss' report included the following from 2012:
- Bar staff called police to report that a man they had kicked out for being unruly had come back. The man was cited for disorderly conduct.
- People leaving the bar were warned for being noisy. One man was cited after police had to warn him a second time.
- Officers on patrol heard a possible fight in progress and witnessed a large number of people leaving. Investigation led to citations being issued for underage drinking and underage people on the premises. One person was arrested for an outstanding warrant.
- Bar staff reported a patron with a fake identification. Two citations were issued for underage alcohol consumption and misrepresentation of age by an underage person.
- A noise complaint was called in. The police officer watched the tavern for 30 minutes and observed no citable violations although there was an increase in noise level due to the volume of customers. Bar security staff were warned to monitor their guests better.
Hingiss also said he would like to see changes to the alcohol license ordinance to make it tougher to earn a license.
- Related: Problems With Former Foxy's Location Revival Sparks Talk of Changes to System
Even though the number of calls to Foxy's nearly triples that of its neighbor, the question remains whether this information should even be considered when discussing the possibility of letting in the new business owners.
Zaja had worked at Foxy's, but said his position with the company gave him no say in how things would run — adding that he understands the problems the former bar had and would work to create a better atmosphere at Deville's.
"I was never any type of manager or had anything to do with any decision making at the former Foxys," Zaja wrote in the comment section of a Patch article. "I was merely an employee."
Plus, former Foxy's owner Andy Lanza claimed to have a good relationship with the city's police officers, seen with his arm around an officer on the final night of the bar being open. Zaja concurred that the bar's relationship with the department had "always been a working relationship."
The Common Council will have a final vote Dec. 18 considering whether to approve the license for the business; the issue will be discussed in closed session according to Wisconsin law, unless Koput requests an open session hearing before the meeting.
Another bump in the road for business owners is a number of code violations revealed during a building inspection of the former Foxy's location, meaning a Change of Occupancy permit is denied unless the business owners take the time to correct each issue.
Even if the council decides to approve the liquor license, the code violations will need to be fixed so that an occupancy permit can be approved before a license is granted, Grams said.
— Reporter Amy Gilgenbach contributed to this report.
It seems like an awful lot of reaching/scapegoating, primarily being done by elected officials. Not good public policy. Perhaps the Port Hotel can run a special on Red Herring this week?
You bring up a valid point, and Chief Hingiss' report does include documentation from Coyotes as well. This comparison was simply meant to pick as similar an operation as possible in Port's downtown using the same time period as it's sample.
Its a new owner, new management team, a new business plan, and there's no connection to Foxy's. My Questions: If you drive through Port at 10pm on a Friday night .... how many people are around downtown? Is it ok for there to be a more vibrant late night location in town? What sort of future controls should there be to obtain a liquor license that shouldn't be applied ex post facto to the current applicant? I'm sure the existing bar owners would prefer that another bar not open up to pull business away from them. However, I'm not a fan of situations where people object to competition, competition that will force the existing businesses to improve to retain or grow their customer base. And again, I don't believe the Chief/Council have a leg to stand on as long as they're allowing illegal gambling machines all over town. I'd prefer to hear an angle about rampant cronyism on that topic. ;)
A ratio of police calls per customers served would likely turn out out to show that Foxy's had far fewer calls than the other establishments. Which puts us back to the question, which I'd like to see us hold politicians directly accountable for: Should Port have a vibrant night life? For them to mask their concerns behind the number of police calls (from the original article) and other innuendo is a dodge of that more important issue. We just saw a mayoral election where I believe one of the candidates was actually For improving the area for younger visitors and residents (20 and 30somethings). That issue didn't seem to get a lot of traction with the older members of the board ... but the way their comments have been shaking out here, I think we can see where they stand.
There are problems with these comparisons, and problems with holding such things against others ... I have not yet been able to learn if Troy Koput requested an open session to discuss his license, but when I find out I will be sure to let the public know so you can come and discuss the issue ... in any event, you can always speak your mind to city officials via e-mail or by coming to the council meeting and speaking during public comment, 7:30 p.m. the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at City Hall. Next week Tuesday *the 18th!* is when Deville's will be discussed.
However ... that's not necessarily what's best for Port. Another thriving business has a tendancy to provide the city with revenue. ;)
Comparing bars in town is a no-win situation. The former Foxy's was the largest bar in town (possibly county). It was also the only one that provided live entertainment on weekends. On the weekends it seemed everyone would start at another establishment and end at Foxy's. This generally happened between 11-2am. Disorderly conduct is a broad spectrum of laws condensed into one. There is no longer a public intoxication law. So being loud, rude, drunk in public, etc. is all classified under disorderly conduct. Another funny thing is the list of calls made by Foxy's to police were made by staff members. This is a catch 22. As a staff member you are supposed to call when you have underage drinking or attempting, fake ids, drunk and disorderly patrons, fights, etc. However, if you do ask for police assistance, then your establishment is later frowned upon in the public eye and by the very same police department you are supposed to cooperate with. Also, most incidents not called in by staff members occur outside an establishment - they happen within the public.
Like it has been stated before, now all businesses that are open past 5pm are suffering. Numbers I would assume are drastically down in other bars and restaurants, apart from the locals. Isn't this supposed to be a tourist destination? Yet officials hike taxes to an all time high on hotels and fight new establishments who want to and do draw tourists from surrounding cities and counties. Ridiculous.
What's really comical is the code violations that are pointed out, have existed the past several years under Foxy's ownership, so why weren't these items brought up to code before the license was renewed each year? Does the fire chief only care about code violations when he's instructed to by the city officials?
One of the big criticisms I have heard about the patch around town, its that it sacrificed journalistic integrity to "get chummy" with the previous chief. I hope that is not what is happening here, because there are legitimate questions that need direct answers and I would like to see them asked. To start with, I am not sure I am buying into this comparison. Statistics can be what they are for a variety of reasons. Just given the short list you listed above, it is clear that Foxy's self reported at least a percentage of these. If schooners didn't, and just hid these things, are we not penalizing Foxy's for trying to work with the police instead of handling it themselves or hiding it? Statistics can also be manipulated to receive a desired result. Milwaukee Police showed us that, but its been a problem with other agencies as well. How you classify a call, or where you list it as the location can be used to fudge or hide numbers. The owner of schooners is very connected, and liked by those in city government. Foxy's owner was not. Was Schooners listed as involved in any of those broken trees in front or it, or where the just listed as Franklin Street complaints?
Also, bringing Christian's irrelevant past into makes Port Washington's officials seem like the gossipy small town everyone accuses us of being. I mean, really, honestly... one OWI or DUI or whatever from over half a decade ago? How does that amount to someone being a bad business manager? I would like to know if any of the officials have actually taken the time to ask around or talk to Christian in person. From what I know, his employment at Foxy's prevented a multitude of problems, and caused none. That man worked like a DOG for that place, even without having any say. Personally, I can't think of anyone better to turn that establishment around and make it something great. Also, I would like to mention that without Foxy's there most people I know leave Port now when they want to go out. They aren't frequenting other local bars, they are taking business elsewhere. Foxy's closing was probably the best thing that's ever happened to downtown Cedarburg. So, goodjob. Let's make Port worse instead of better.