McCandless delays vote on Sheetz liquor license

McCandless council delayed a vote on a request from Sheetz to transfer a liquor license to the new store being built along Perry Highway.

The town wants additional information — in writing — about how the store plans to monitor and control alcohol sales.

The Altoona-based company wants to transfer a license from a closed Pizza Hut along Saltsburg Road in Penn Hills to the new McCandless store.

State law allows liquor licenses to be transferred from one location to another within a county’s limits as long as it is approved by the municipality where the license will be used, said Mark Kozar, an attorney representing Sheetz.

During a required public hearing in June for the license transfer, Sheetz officials promised to place strict controls on the sale of beer and wine, and provided council with a 10-page outline of the company’s alcohol sales policy.

The new store, which is located across the street from an existing Sheetz, is expected to open in August.

On Monday, a Sheetz representative provided council with an additional 11 pages of company policy on how alcohol sales are monitored and enforced. But the information was not enough to satisfy members of council concerned that alcohol sales could create a nuisance for nearby residents.

One of the chief concerns raised by council President Kim Zachary was the lack of written policy on loitering.

Sheetz representative Ellen Freeman told council that while the company does not have a written policy to curb loitering, it does take steps to keep people from hanging out at its stores for extended periods of time.

In addition to security cameras to monitor the inside and outside of the building, an employee is required to go outside hourly to check the area, Freeman said.

She said employees are instructed to ask people to leave the site after approximately 15 minutes, but have the option to contact company security “if they don’t feel comfortable” approaching a patron.

Freeman said the lanyards employees wear are equipped with a button that can be used to contact the central security office, which will use the parking lot’s loudspeaker system to ask loiterers to leave. If the request is ignored, a security officer will contact local police to intervene, she said.

The procedure did not sit well with Zachary.

“Are you aware that there are houses less than 25 or 30 feet away from that store,” she asked Freeman. “And you’re going to have loudspeakers in the middle of the night telling people to disperse?”

Freeman said it is unlikely the speakers could be heard at nearby homes because the volume “is more like a conversation coming out.” She compared the volume to speakers installed at the pumps for patrons to communicate with employees inside the store.

Zachary also pressed Freeman on the sale of wine for on-site consumption.

“We were told that no wine would be consumed,” Zachary said. “I’m not sure who is writing these policies, but nothing is adding up.”

Freeman said the state requires Sheetz to sell wine if beer is sold, but the company does not permit patrons to buy full bottles of wine and open them in the store to drink.

Sheetz does allow customers to consume two 8-ounce bottles of wine while they are in a designated seating area.

Zachary said simply stating the policy is not good enough and called for the vote be delayed until the July 27 meeting.

“We have different people showing up at each meeting,” Zachary said in reference to the June 22 public hearing at which the company was represented by Kozar.

“They don’t seem to be communicating with each other so these things are being taken care of,” Zachary said. “We need to find out about what’s going with the wine, and what we want to do about loitering.”

Councilwoman Angela Woods supported Zachary’s request that the company provide the town with written versions of the policies outlined by Freeman.

Freeman agreed to provide the information requested before the liquor license request comes before council again.