Albert Lea adults who knowingly allow three or more teenagers to drink alcohol in their residences will soon be held criminally responsible because of an ordinance passed Monday by the Albert Lea City Council.

In what was a 4-3 vote, the council voted to adopt what’s being called a “social host” ordinance around the state and the nation.

Albert Lea becomes the 15th city in Minnesota to adopt the ordinance.

The purpose of it, Albert Lea Police Lt. J.D. Carlson said, is to “discourage underage possession of drinking and consumption of alcohol, even if done within the confines of a private residence.” This will make it more and more difficult for children under 21 to consume alcohol.

The ordinance holds people criminally responsible for hosting events where underage people possess or consume alcohol. The people hosting the event can be held criminally responsible even if they did not supply the alcohol.

The ordinance was compiled by the Albert Lea Police Department after 3rd Ward Councilor George Marin requested it earlier this spring. Marin has been consistent with bringing it to the council, though several of the other councilors have expressed concerns with it throughout the process.

Carlson said in Freeborn County from 2005 through 2007, 30 percent of the people who were arrested for drunken driving were age 24 and younger.

Currently in Albert Lea, a person can be charged with furnishing alcohol to an underage person and an underage person can be charged with possession or consumption of alcohol, he said. But many times when officers arrive at a party where underage people are drinking, they are unable to determine who provided the alcohol. This ordinance would allow the officers to charge the person who hosts the party.

The bottom line of the ordinance, he said, is to reduce alcohol consumption by minors. Alcohol can often be a gateway to other problems.

If someone is found criminally responsible of the violation, they face a penalty of 90 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. The violation is a misdemeanor.

Carlson explained some scenarios where the ordinance would and would not apply.

For example, he said, imagine he was a parent who had a 16-year-old son. While the parents were away on vacation, the son had a party with his peers that was unbeknownst to the parents.

The parents could not be held criminally responsible in this case as they did not know anything about a party, he said.

Chaska Police Sgt. Rob Stock, who was part of the first department in the state to enact the ordinance, said in his community the ordinance was passed in September of 2007 and police have since charged it out 11 times.

Ten of those times have been for adults, and one of those was for a juvenile. The average party had probably about 5 or 6 people at it, though it is hard to tell because teenagers often scatter when a police car arrives.

He said he thinks there’s a good chance this ordinance could someday become state law.

“We’ve had good success with it,” Stock said.

Riverland Community College Dean Steve Bowron said he personally supports the ordinance because he believes underage consumption is a serious problem in the community.

Albert Lea School Board member Jill Marin said she believes the ordinance will deter underage drinking. She knows the ramifications of the issue.

She said young people take more risks than others, and they believe bad things happen to others and not themselves. Alcohol is a prime factor in violence at any age.

She also talked of acquaintance rape, which she said typically happens when a victim is passed out or close to that point — most often from alcohol. This is a crime that goes unreported most of the time because the victim doesn’t want her parents to know she was drinking and she may not know how many people were involved.

She asked the council to protect the daughters of the community.

“If it saves one young life from sexual assault, it would have been worth it,” she said.

Alice Englin of Freeborn County Partners in Prevention said recent surveys conducted of the county’s high school students indicate that alcohol use by underage people in the county is the No. 1 problem in the county, and therefore the No. 1 problem in Albert Lea.

Englin said in the last 30 days, 8 percent of the area’s sixth graders have used alcohol. In the last 30 days, 55 percent of the seniors have done so, and 28 percent have been drinking and driving within the last 12 months.

The social host ordinance would protect Albert Lea families, she said.

First Ward Councilor Vern Rasmussen pointed out that whether people agree with it or not, it is against the law for underage people to drink.

And while state statute enables parents to give alcohol to their children, it does not allow people to let the neighborhood children come over and drink alcohol.

Second Ward Councilor Larry Baker said from the onset, he, too, was kind of skeptical about the ordinance. But after all the homework he’s done on it and the people he’s talked to, he doesn’t have any reservations.

Leaders need to not just lead for today, they need to lead for the future, Baker said.

While there were many in support of the ordinance, there were also a few who spoke out with differing views.

Albert Lea resident Bob Donovan said for him, the underlying issue behind the ordinance not only undermines parent’s rights, but it also chips away at individual rights as well.

Sixth Ward Councilor Al Brooks said though he does not want to condone a party where parents are knowingly buying alcohol, he was not going to vote for the ordinance because he thought it was too vague.

Fourth Ward Councilor Reid Olson said the part that stuck out to him in the ordinance was the area that defined an event or gathering as three or more people. To him a party means five or more people.

“I don’t think that passing this ordinance is going to be a magic wand that ends all underage drinking,” Olson said. “I don’t think this is the cure for Albert Lea’s problems necessarily.

Marin said Olson’s comments disturbed him.

“Every life matters and we as a community — I feel we should be doing what we can to value those lives,” Marin said. It shouldn’t matter if there are three or five at a party.

Marin said the ordinance is about being proactive and being leaders.

He said he knows it won’t be a magic wand and adolescents will still continue to drink, but the council is the watchmen now and needs to send that message to every resident.

The council’s No. 1 call to duty is saving people’s lives, he said.

Albert Lea Mayor Randy Erdman pointed out a paragraph of a letter written by Police Chief Dwaine Winkels to the council.

“Be assured that I would not bring a proposal to the City Council without thoroughly investigating the options and conducting public meetings to gather feedback and support,” Winkels wrote. “I believe this ordinance is a good ordinance. It fills a gap in the current law and is an added tool for law enforcement. Several progressive communities around the state have enacted versions of this proposal.”

During the vote Rasmussen, Baker, Marin and Erdman voted in favor of the ordinance, and Olson, Severtson and Brooks voted against it.

Upon the passage of the ordinance, several in the audience clapped.

It goes into effect in 30 days.

Look to the Tribune Wednesday for more about the Monday council meeting.