City won't stop music

The City Council voted 3-2 to extend the club's amusement permit 90 days, with Mayor Joe Galligan and Vice Mayor Cathy Baylock in the minority.

Baylock said it was the sixth time the matter had arisen since she joined the council and called it "a problem on the avenue."

"We did let it slide a little bit but we are back on top of it now," club co-owner Doni Malaise said at the meeting.

Fanny and Alexander employees often call police when there is trouble, but Councilman Mike Coffey said the high number of calls indicates cooperation with police. The high number of calls, he said, is "a double-edged sword."

Club co-owner Jonathan Welch said moving more experienced staff to Burlingame from its Palo Alto club in January has eliminated problems.

The club employees are expected to cooperate with police requests for witness statements on incidents, and the club's dress code, which forbids athletic wear, T-shirts, hats and tennis shoes, would be better enforced, Welch said after the meeting.

The agreement said the bar's last call will be at 1:10 a.m., and employees will also attend a refresher course to identify drunk customers and cut them off.

The club's owners are also expected to meet with other bar owners in the city at police request.

"The city should not be the baby sitter for the city's businesses," said Councilwoman Rosalie O'Mahony.

"I think this is worth a try for 90 days but we don't want to hear a peep out of you," she told Malaise.

Malaise said the police should still expect calls from the club to monitor problems.

In other business:

·The City Council adopted budget goals formed at a community meeting Jan. 29.

The city is projecting 5 percent revenue growth for 2005 and 2006 and a 3 percent increase in employee costs.

The city is exploring funding options to upgrade the city's buildings, especially the Parks and Recreation building in Washington Park city officials toured last week.

"It is obvious the next building that needs to be worked on is Parks and Recreation," Galligan said.

A new building could be constructed or it could be remodeled, he said.

Galligan said Burlingame is near the bottom of a list comparing cities' facilities for teens and seniors, which he called, "embarrassing."

·The City Council unanimously adopted restrictions on new massage businesses in an attempt to separate legitimate massage therapists from those engaged in prostitution.

The new law raises the required hours for massage technicians from 70 to 500 hours, and raises the permit fees on new massage businesses from $150 to $250.

Fees to renew annual permits were also raised from $75 to $100, and the money raised is expected to pay for background checks, police said.

The checks will also go back 10 years instead of five.

Stephen Baxter can be reached by e-mail at stephen@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.