The Ames City Council voted to renew Cy’s Roost’s liquor license after 13 citations for allowing minors on the premise. The vote occurred at its meeting on August 8.

The ISU Police Department issued six underage tickets at Cy’s Roost, 121 Welch Ave., in August 2005 and has issued another seven since. Despite the violations, the council voted 5-1 in favor of granting the bar a license for another six months. Cy’s had requested a 12-month approval.

Dan Rice, the only councilman to cast a dissenting vote, explained that he voted against the six-month license because he would rather have renewed it for the full 12 months Cy’s originally requested.

“When I heard about the Phuel bar having 22 violations and Cy’s Roost having significantly less, I started questioning where our standards were and how we decide,” Rice said.

Phuel, a Campustown bar located across the street from Cy’s on Welch Avenue, was initially denied a license in March because of its numerous violations.

Phuel’s owners then appealed the decision and it was ultimately overturned.

Councilman Matthew Goodman agreed that the lack of a definitive standard makes licensing decisions difficult to make.

“It’s hard to know how many violations are too many violations,” Goodman said. “The city doesn’t have a number outlined anywhere, so it’s always sort of subjective.”

According to City Council minutes, a former city attorney had previously set that number at 12. However, that number was arbitrary and has rarely been used in such decisions.

“No matter what the number would be, having one would at least allow us to be even-handed,” Goodman said. “What’s frustrating is we have to make guesses as to how many violations constitute a lack of commitment.”

Ames Police Cmdr. Randy Kessel said other Campustown bars, such as Sips, 124 Welch Ave., and Club Element, 2522 Chamberlain St., have had as many as 20 and 16 violations within the same time frame. Their licenses have not yet come up for renewal.

Ames Police Chief Loras Jaeger didn’t consider these numbers a total shock.

“Clearly we have a significant number of persons congregated in a small area who are under the age of 21, and there are establishments that serve alcohol,” Jaeger said. “Violations are going to occur.”

However, Jaeger would like to see better enforcement at the doors and more employees at the alcohol/ID training class offered monthly by the city. The class is offered at no cost to the establishments and covers things such as how to spot a fake ID.

Cy’s sent seven employees to the class in 2005, but none were sent in 2006 until the council mandated it to do so for privileges to its outdoor service area.

Cy’s owner Andrew White did not return messages asking for comment.