PORT ALLEN, La. — Port Allen Councilman Irvrie Johnson has proposed that the city's nightclubs and bars may be permitted to stay open just a little longer.
But the extended hours won't be used to sell alcoholic beverages; instead the extra time will be used by employees to clean up the establishments.
The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/JqXSr3 ) city and parish laws now force nightclubs to shut their doors at 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10 p.m. on Sundays, and everyone, including the staff, must leave the premises at closing time.
In October 2011, city voters approved an amendment mandating nightspots shut down at 10 p.m. on Sunday. However, that measure contained special provisions allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages on Super Bowl Sunday, the Sunday before Memorial Day and Labor Day, and on the Fourth of July and New Year's Day if they should fall on a Sunday.
But during recent committee meetings, Johnson asked the council to consider amending the city's ordinance so that nightclub owners and their staff would have about an hour and a half to cleanup their establishments.
"They need time to clean their building and get it ready for the next day," Johnson said. "A problem they were having was if the Board of Health would come by the following day to check the place out, they would find it to be filthy."
Johnson said he tried to bring the matter before the council back in 2002 but failed to get the support he needed.
The council is expected to revisit the issue during its meeting Wednesday after the city attorney has had a chance to review the proposal.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com