by ABC-7 Reporter/Anchor Maria Garcia
EL PASO, Texas -- The tension between the residents of the Cielo Vista Area and the business owners of the 3 Legged Monkey and Wet Ultra Lounge continues to grow as they argue whether the clubs are "high class establishments."
In the end, council members decided they would take steps to end a lease agreement for the land the bars occupy.
On Tuesday, City Council listened to a presentation put together by the city manager's office that concluded the city has used $167,903 of taxpayer money when responding to calls from residents in that neighborhood.
The money was spent from January 2007 to October 2009 and the majority of the funds, $142,110, was used to pay police officers who have responded to calls in that night-club area.
At one point, City Representative Eddie Holguin asked the city staffer who was conducting the presentation if any code violation had been found during this time. She responded "No, there were no violations."
Holguin then said, "I have a problem with that, we've spent more than $167,000 in public money, and there have been no real problems found."
However, a representative with the El Paso Police Department says that despite the fact that the bars are in compliance, officers are constantly arresting people coming out of those clubs for DWI, fights and other public nuisances.
The city owns the land that the clubs are located and they lease it to the company Patriot Place Management (PPM) through the airport.
PPM then leases the land to the 3 Legged Monkey and WET Ultra Lounge, as well as the Crystal Ballroom.
Council considered an amendment to the lease that would limit the occupancy limits for both clubs even if they expanded. The amendment would have also limited the number of bars allowed in that area to two and would prohibit outdoor parties in the parking lot of the clubs.
Several residents from the Cielo Vista area as well as the owner of the 3 Legged Monkey addressed council.
One resident said that even though the clubs were technically compliant in terms of the noise, the patrons who attend the bars are less than desirable people to have in their neighborhood on the weekends.
"I've seen them urinate in my yard, defecate in another neighbor's yard, and knock down our trash cans."
At one point, he invited council members to spend the night at his house, "I have an extra bedroom in my house and I invite any of the council members to spend the night, and see for yourselves that our concerns are not made up."
Holguin then said he empathized with the neighbors, but that they had lost their credibility by calling with unmerited complaints when none of the establishments had violations.
One woman said she was tired of seeing women in bikinis in the parking lot of the area and that the clubs have shown they're not a "high class" place.
Representative Acosta agreed and said, "That was part of the initial lease agreement, that this be a high class place, but it's proven not to be high class."
The owner of the 3 Legged Monkey told representatives he's been open for 7 years, and has never been in violation with any city codes, and that his club has donated more than $50,000 to charity.
After taking up the issue in executive session, council decided to end the lease with PPM, but since that was not an option in the agenda today, they will have to officially take the step next week.
