SCREENSHOT FROM VIDEO BELOW
St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer has put a stop to loud music and dancing for a stretch of Main Street.
St. Charles, already a joyless wasteland devoid of anything even resembling culture or merriment, is cracking down on unsanctioned dancing and loud music for three blocks of its popular Main Street strip of bars.
The ban, which was announced by Mayor Dan Borgmeyer in a news conference on Monday, applies to any business with a liquor license in the 100 through 200 blocks of North Main Street. That strip of the street includes such popular nightlife spots as Lloyd & Harry's Bar & Grill (208 North Main Street, St Charles; 636-395-7860), Tony’s on Main (132 North Main Street, St. Charles; 636-940-1960) and Quintessential Dining and Nightlife (149 North Main Street, St. Charles; 636-443-2211) — the same three businesses Borgmeyer singled out in September when similar restrictions were put in place.
At issue are the huge crowds that are gathering to party in the district on account of St. Charles County's exceptionally lax coronavirus restrictions, Borgmeyer said.
"I think our allowable number of patrons is about 3,069 on Main Street with all the establishments," Borgmeyer noted during Monday's news conference. "We are probably running in the 5 to 6 thousand range. Police are doing a good job of monitoring that and most of the people are respectful."
And with the crowds, according to city officials, comes crime.
“Part of what we’ve seen is just an uptick in the use of weapons," Captain Ray Juengst of the St. Charles Police Department added. "We’ve had several investigations where people have been hurt, assaulted or most recently a murder. Those seem to be coming at the end of bar closings, at nights when we have those. So that’s what we’re trying to address and curtail."
The murder Juengst mentions occurred in late December. Police were alerted to an altercation behind Lloyd & Harry's after the bar had closed. Police say one of the officers who responded saw Marcell Foster, a Bel-Ridge man, point and fire a gun several times at a man named LaRico Martin. Martin died the following afternoon at a hospital with a bullet wound in his neck. Foster has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
Borgmeyer, who jokingly referred to himself as "Mayor Footloose," explained that he is able to enact these restrictions because the city's zoning code does not permit nightclubs. He said that it's a longstanding code that simply hadn't been enforced.
That all changes now. Borgmeyer said the restrictions go into effect immediately, and that any business that refuses to comply will have its liquor license revoked.
"The enforcement hammer went down today," Borgmeyer continued. "There's going to be no more of this. We're going to bring people into compliance. And if they don't come into compliance, there's no contrition."
Watch the news conference yourself below:
