A Permit to Party in the Town of Bedford

It's OK to serve alcoholic beverages at an event on town property—but now you need a permit to do it and at least three weeks to plan.

The extra lead time is now required to give the town's insurance broker, SKCG Group, Inc., sufficient time to approve a group's application.

The approval ensures Bedford's compliance with the additional insurance coverage recently purchased by the town. A flat $300 per year enables community organizations to sell and serve alcoholic beverages at events held on town property.

The insurance company approval is necessary whether a fee is charged for an event or not; an alcohol permit is necessary when a fee is being charged for the event.

"We never had a permit before," said Lisbeth Fumagalli, town clerk. "The process was becoming cumbersome given the number of questions about regulations around the service of alcohol so I requested that we have a policy in place," she said.

At its Aug. 3 meeting, the town board ironed out the bullet points behind the booze.

Party-throwers will need to follow the same procedures as they have before to hold an event, including obtaining a facilities use application and a "hold harmless" form from the Bedford recreation department.

The insurance requirements may change depending on the whether a fee is being charged. Town attorney Nancy Tagliafierro and Fumagalli are working out the language to reflect the appropriate types of coverage—host liability or liquor law liability, for example.

While it may only take the insurance company two weeks to turn it around, given the number of steps involved, Fumagalli suggested a three-week period for groups to submit forms.

"I guess there won't be any shotgun weddings," Councilman David Gabrielson quipped. Board members noted that event planners usually begin the process a few months before an event, and didn't anticipate any pushback from the community.

Community groups have been watching the policy development since late April when the issue was first raised by the town board. For some groups, critical funds raised through such events were in danger of evaporating along with the alcohol.

The board unanimously adopted the new policy.

"This policy will enable groups or individuals who rent facilities serve alcohol without putting our town at risk," said upervisor Lee Roberts.