Belmar's Keg Law

Belmar hopes keg-tag plan will stem underage drinking
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 03/15/07
BY ERIK LARSEN
COASTAL MONMOUTH BUREAU

BELMAR — If a final vote is approved next month, the borough will become the first town in Monmouth County to tag and track beer kegs rented in the borough as a method to curb underage drinking.

The ordinance, which was introduced Wednesday, would also make it illegal for anyone in Belmar to possess a keg that was not tagged. Violating the ordinance would result in a $2,000 fine and a jail sentence of up to 90 days.

A public hearing on the ordinance is scheduled for 8 p.m. April 11, when the measure would be subject to another vote for adoption.

Police Chief Jack Hill, who also serves as chairman of the Monmouth County Chiefs of Police Association's alcoholic beverage control committee, said the association plans to pitch the proposed ordinance to the county's other 52 municipalities in an effort to create a uniform system of enforcement.

There was some concern raised about the inadvertent effect the ordinance might have on residents.

Councilman Matthew J. Doherty had raised the point that if a Belmar resident wanted to purchase a speciality keg or an imported keg from a distributor out of town or out of state, the resident in question would technically be in violation of the law.

That prompted Mayor Kenneth E. Pringle to poke fun at Doherty, suggesting that it was Doherty who was that hypothetical resident. Pringle said in jest that Doherty liked "fancy schmancy" Harp Lager, an imported Irish beer, and assured him that the council would come up with a solution to address that issue at a later date.

"In the meantime, he's going to have to drink Miller Lite like the rest of us," Pringle quipped.

Barbara T. Sprechman, director of community services for Prevention First, a social services group dedicated to stopping substance abuse, attended Wednesday's council meeting and said she was impressed that the borough had invested so much thought on the matter. The ordinance was first proposed by former Councilman John Szeliga last November.