The Kalispell City Council voted Tuesday night to ban the sale of alcohol at this weekend’s Montana Pond Hockey Classic as organizers move the event to Woodland Park.

While some of the concern was over drinking in the proximity of children in a public park, council members took issue with more technical aspects of the special-event permit application.

“It’s a great event. It’s a wonderful thing,” Ward 4 council member Tim Kluesner said. “But we can’t even approve this, council, because it’s against the law that we created.”

The permit application came before the council because it included a request to sell and consume alcohol. Without that portion, city staffers would be able to issue a permit without a council vote.

The request was for a fenced area for drinking, complete with identification checkpoints and security, for an estimated 250 people at a time. 

The application was submitted by Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau and local organizer of the hockey tournament.

Medler told the council that the Pond Hockey Classic is one of the “signature events” that brings people to the city during slower tourism seasons. It brought around 3,200 spectators and participants last year. 

The event initially was slated to take place at Foy’s Lake outside city limits, but warm weather and poor ice conditions forced Medler to change the venue.

Medler told the council that last year’s inaugural tournament at Foy’s Lake went smoothly with alcohol being served. She said removing alcohol from the scene would impact the event.

“It’s just part of the atmosphere,” she said. “There is beer available at our other events.”

Some council members opposed the alcohol provision on the grounds that it didn’t meet the requirements of city ordinances. Those rules were passed years ago by the council for other organizations to host alcohol at events in public areas. 

One issue was that city ordinance requires a three-week notice for events on public property that include alcohol consumption. Medler’s application was filed with less than a week’s notice because the weather forced a quick venue switch. 

Another concern was that the fenced area for drinking could potentially exceed the space outlined in city ordinance.

While all voiced support of the bureau and the tournament, some council members didn’t want to create variances in the rules.

“It’s imperative for our economy to have events like this,” Ward 4 council member Phil Guiffrida said. “But I am not willing to violate city code to have these events.”

Other members spoke in favor of bending the rules given the circumstances. Ward 3 council member Jim Atkinson said that perhaps the weather should be blamed for amending the rules a bit. 

Ward 1 council member Kari Gabriel said she would vote in favor of the alcohol provision because the Convention and Visitor Bureau has a reputation for putting on “world-class” events.

Toward the end of the nearly hourlong discussion, Guiffrida moved to remove the alcohol addendum from the permit application. The amendment narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote. The council then approved the permit unanimously without the alcohol option.

Ward 2 council member Chad Graham said he didn’t support the alcohol provision on the grounds that the ordinance needed to be followed. He said the tournament still will attract a good turnout.

“These events, whether they have alcohol or not, are going to be successful,” he said.

The Montana Pond Hockey Classic begins Friday at Woodland Park.

Online:

www.pondhockeyclassic.com/montana

Reporter Matt Hudson may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.