Local bar owners and city officials will meet this afternoon to discuss the future of liquor license renewals in Ames. The current policy, which was changed this summer by City Attorney John Klaus, prohibits renewing liquor licenses for any bar that exceeds 12 underage violations in a year. Attorney Barry Nadler, who represents People’s Bar and Grill, 2430 Lincoln Way, along with “four of the largest bars” attended by ISU students, said he wants to reach an agreement among bar owners and the City of Ames about reasonable criteria for the renewal process. “We don’t believe that looking simply at the numbers is sufficient,” he said. People’s liquor license was up for renewal at the end of August. The renewal process was put on hold until after the city council meeting on Sept. 12, when the recommended criteria from today’s meeting will be presented for approval by the council, Nadler said. Ames Police Chief Dennis Ballantine said liquor license renewals should not be solely based on the number of underage violations. Instead, he said, how active bar owners and employees are in combating underage drinking should be taken into consideration. Ballantine said the Ames Police Department offers training sessions once a year or by request to bar employees on how to spot fake driver’s licenses. Ames City Manager Steven Schainker said he hopes an agreement on renewal criteria will be accomplished today. “[The criteria] is developed through a cooperative effort,” he said. “Hopefully [bar owners] will be able to abide by it.” Officials attending today’s meeting include Ballantine, Klaus, Schainker and Nadler, as well as bar owners. Ballantine said it will be hard to design a perfect plan for the renewal process. “[The criteria] is never going to be totally definitive, but the purpose of today’s meeting is to help officials be consistent,” he said.