Ames City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to support a new set of criteria for recommending liquor-license renewals. The new renewal process will include a positive or negative recommendation from the Ames Police Department, Police Chief Dennis Ballantine said. Recommendations will take into consideration the effort put forth by bar employees to reduce the number of underage violations and the actual number of violations, he said. “I think we should see instant results within a couple of months,” Ballantine said. The police department will keep track of the percent of bar employees who attend training meetings to learn how to spot fake identifications, send a monthly letter to bar owners to let them know how many violations they have and will increase its undercover operations in bars. “Many bars are blaming door people,” Ballantine said. “We want to see drink servers and bartenders checking IDs.” The current liquor-law policy, which was implemented this summer, allowed bars to have 12 minor violations a year. If bars exceeded this number, they would not receive a positive renewal recommendation. Along with the approval of the new renewal criteria, the council also renewed the liquor license for People’s Bar and Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way. Barry Nadler, an attorney representing several local bars, said People’s has already agreed to attend the training sessions offered by the police department and has committed to have six individuals specialize in recognizing fake identification. He also said a surveillance camera is in place, door people who are responsible for checking identification cards are being paid more to emphasize the importance of their duty, and a written policy is already in place. Re-checking identification will be added to the preventative measures People’s is taking to reduce its number of violations, Nadler said. “We shouldn’t ignore numbers, but numbers don’t always tell the whole story,” he said. A motion was made by council member Herman Quirmbach to reconsider the status of the liquor license for Boheme Bistro, 2900 West St., at the Sept. 26 city council meeting. Boheme received a negative recommendation this summer because it had 15 minor violations. Nadler estimated it would take two to three months for bars to put all aspects of the new policy into practice. “Some [bars] are further along than others,” he said. City Attorney John Klaus said he was pleased with the bar owners’ involvement in formulating the new criteria during a meeting last Tuesday. “The last thing the city wants to do is tell a licensee how to run his business,” Klaus said. The new policy will still be subjective, despite the new understanding between city officials and bar owners, he said. “[The renewal criteria] will be something that will constantly present us with new challenges,” Klaus said. Increasing fines for those committing minor violations will also be considered at a later date, Ballantine said. He also recognized that this new set of criteria only applies to underage violations, and the renewal process for bars that cater toward an older crowd should be re-evaluated.