01-05-10 Special CC Minutes
Special Meeting
of the
City Council
January 5,2010
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a special meeting of the City Council of the City of
Golden Valley, Hennepin County, Minnesota was held at 7800 Golden Valley Road in said
City on January 5, 2010 at 6:00 pm.
The following members were present: Freiberg, Loomis, Pentel, Scanlon and Shaffer. Also
present were: Thomas Burt, City Manager; Allen Barnard, City Attorney; and Judy Nally,
Administrative Assistant.
Administrative Hearing - Tobacco License - Walgreens - 5695 Duluth Street
Mayor Loomis opened the meeting and introduced City Attorney Allen Barnard.
Allen Barnard presented an overview of the administrative hearing process and answered
questions from the Council. Allen Barnard administered the oath to those present to testify.
Eric Steinhoff, Attorney representing Walgreens, introduced the Store Manager and District
Manager, stated that Walgreens is taking the violations very seriously, they have a
comprehensive tobacco sales program, they have strict education program and training,
and they also do independent stings and they would like to review their license.
Nick Christoff, District Manager, stated they would be open to working with the Police
Department for additional training for the staff; reviewed the process the clerk goes through
when a tobacco product is sold; stated it was an unfortunate occurrence that this has
happened so frequently at this location; stated they could change their policy and terminate
an employee immediately after tobacco is sold to a minor and stated they will do what it
takes to operate in a manner which is good for the community.
Mark Stormoen, Store Manager, reviewed the process the clerk uses when entering the
system when a tobacco product is sold; reviewed the process the clerk goes through if a
violation does occur; stated they have a good system in place, they have a television
monitoring system; and they hire a company to do independent stings at their locations,
stated sometimes the employees don't follow the procedures and don't do what is expected
of them; and stated that they did terminate the employment of one of the clerks for not
following the system.
Thomas Burt answered questions from the Council.
Stacy Altonen, Police Chief, stated that staff recommended revocation of the license and
that the 2010 license not be renewed.
Special Meeting of the City Council
January 5,2010
Page 2
MOVED by Shaffer, seconded by Freiberg and motion carried unanimously that the Council
has determined that is not appropriate to issue a cigarette - tobacco product license to
Walgreens based on the following findings: repeated failed compliance checks even after
an allowance was made in the past to try to correct their program. Upon a roll call vote, the
vote was as follows:
FREIBERG - YES LOOMIS - YES PENTEL - YES SCANLON - YES SHAFFER - YES
Adjournment
The Mayor adjourned the meeting at 6:37 pm.
Linda R. Loomis, Mayor
ATTEST:
Judy Nally, Administrative Assistant