DIXFIELD – The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Monday evening to approve an application for the Dixfield American Legion to hold “bring your own booze” events for a year.
Members of the Legion explained to Chairman Hart Daley and Selectmen Dana Whittemore and Mac Gill that every time they want to hold an event at the American Legion hall where residents are allowed to bring their own liquor, they have to go to the board for approval.
When Daley asked why they didn’t apply for a liquor license, they said it was too expensive.
Daley said he was concerned about how the Legion would monitor how much people were drinking.
“What if someone were to come to an event with a fifth of whiskey, or a keg of beer, and get loaded?” Daley asked. “Is there going to be someone monitoring all of this to make sure people aren’t driving home drunk, or drinking too much?”
One member said residents would be limited on how much beer or alcohol they could bring, and the Legion would be in contact with the Police Department to make sure they were aware of a BYOB event.
Town Manager Carlo Puiia suggested they “work together to come up with a concrete list of rules for these type of events.”
“You want to be able to point out to people what the rules are, in terms of bringing their own alcohol,” Puiia said.
Daley concurred, adding that he wanted to make sure that the Legion had certain rules in place before the board approved a long-term application.
Dixfield Police Chief Jeff Howe said the Dixfield American Legion had hosted BYOB events in the past, with no problems reported.
Gill said he didn’t want to hear about anybody driving home drunk, and wanted to see something in place to prevent it from happening.
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