By JOHN KOZIOL

Staff Writer

CONCORD — After taking public input Thursday, the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission will now consider whether it wants to change its rules on extension-of-service licenses, an action that could have major ramifications on city businesses that operate Bike Week beer tents.

Following a contentious permitting process last year that saw the SLC deny but then approve several Bike Week beer tent licenses, the commission decided to review how it allows licensees to extend service of beverages and liquor.

Among the changes the SLC is weighing, the most significant may be the proposal not to grant extension-of-service licenses for areas larger than three times the licensed seating of the permittee.

Other proposed changes would require that "all requirements of the license (being extended) are met in the extended premises" and also that the SLC has to consider testimony from local, state or federal officials as to whether the extension of service constitutes a hazard "to the public safety or welfare" and if it does, to deny those requests.

When Thursday’s SLC hearing was opened, Laconia City Manager Eileen Cabanel read a letter into the record from Mayor Mark Fraser in which Fraser stressed that Bike Week is an "important" event for the city, the Lakes Region and the state.

Fraser noted that the Weirs Beach businesses, which would likely seek SLC extension-of-service licenses this year, already serve alcohol under their current restaurant or lounge licenses and have exhibited a "strong effort to comply" with state liquor laws in the past.

Attorney John Deachman said the Broken Spoke and the Weirs Beach Lobster Pound, both of which he represents, would be adversely affected by the occupancy restrictions.

According to the SLC, there are 78 licensed seats at the Lobster Pound and 145 at the Broken Spoke. Both businesses currently have extension-of-service applications pending before the commission.

For Bike Week 2002, the Lobster Pound and Broken Spoke initially sought to have beer tents with occupancies of 2,000 and 2,500, respectively. Later, each agreed to having no more than 1,000 people inside the tents at one time.

His clients, said Deachman, are "like the retail merchants at Christmas-time" who rely on a limited window of opportunity in which to make their income for the season.

Both the Lobster Pound and the Broken Spoke "have demonstrated their ability to manage large crowds" in beer tents on their properties in Bike Weeks past and each takes security "very seriously," Deachman continued, and should be allowed to "exploit that expertise."

Deachman said the beer tents "contribute to the overall security" of Bike Week patrons by restricting drinking to specific areas rather than having people roam "all over Laconia" in search of something to wet their whistles.

Commissioner John Byrne reminded Deachman that extension-of-service licenses are issued for "a specific purpose" which is to extend a licensee’s restaurant or lounge operation which therefore means an extension also of their food service.

Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said he supports the beer tents because they are safer than the alternative of Bike Week patrons congregating in restaurants or bars to drink.

He said many of those buildings pose fire-suppression and evacuation challenges not found in the beer tents which are made of flame-retardant materials and are open, one-story structures where the activities inside are easily visible.

Commissioner Patricia Russell was bowled over when Erickson told her that cooking takes place within some of the beer tents.

"Live flames," she asked, "wow."

Laconia Police Chief Tom Oetinger said it is important for local officials to have a say in the SLC’s consideration of extension-of-service licenses and noted that as a 22-year member of the LPD, he has seen the "evolution" of the beer tents.

"That’s an awful lot of people in a temporary location serving alcohol," he said of the beer tents and while acknowledging that some licensees do "a great job" in controlling problems at their tents, the problems for the Laconia Police Department begin when the tents shut down.

People leaving the beer tents cause many disturbances and the LPD annually takes "easily" 200 or more people into protective custody during Bike Week, "not because we want to," said Oetinger, "but because we have to."

Alcohol-impaired individuals also get into a "significant" number of motor vehicle accidents, said Oetinger, who expressed concern that "mega tents" where alcohol is served promote "a culture of drinking."

"There has to be some sort of limit," he said, as to the size of the beer tents because "if growth continues exponentially, where does that leave us?"

Byrne told Oetinger that "you have identified what we’ve heard from our enforcement bureau" about Bike Week beer tents in that the problems are "not necessarily at the venues" but outside of them.

Jody Fine, a psychologist with Genesis Behavioral Health, spoke to the commission about the dynamics of crowds, especially ones in which many people have been drinking.

She said as a group of people gets larger and their inhibitions are lowered through consumption of alcohol, there takes place "a diffusion of responsibility" which is "a recipe for trouble."

Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorcycle Rally and Race Week Association, downplayed the need for additional oversight of Bike Week beer tents.

"They’re everywhere," St. Clair said of police officers patrolling Weirs Beach during Bike Week, adding that beer tent operators do an excellent job of policing their facilities because they fear losing their liquor licenses.

Abuse of alcohol "is a concern of myself and everyone with the Rally," said St. Clair. The SLC shouldn’t change its permitting process, he said, because "I think the system works fine."

If the SLC does want to change any rules related to extension-of-service licenses, those changes would also have to be approved by the Legislature’s Joint Legislative Rules Committee, explained SLC Chief of Enforcement Aidan Moore.

Moore said he was surprised by the low turnout for Thursday’s public hearing and also by how little notice was paid to the amendment requiring that for the SLC to grant an extension-of-service license, the applicant had to meet all conditions of their initial license within the extended service area.

"The fact that it becomes an extension of the licensed premise" with requirements as to the availability of food as well as other conditions, "may very well have some type of impact if the licensee is looking to lease out or have a concession inside," said Moore.