Council defers Uptown license decision to state BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer KEYPORT - Six months, two public hearings and one pair of split pants later, bar patrons will still have to wait for their drink orders on the outdoor deck at the Uptown Bar & Grille. The lower Broad Street bar, owned by Mayor John Merla's older brother, Charles Merla, applied for a liquor license expansion back in March in hopes of serving alcohol on a new deck, patio and recreation area built behind the bar proper. Shortly before midnight Sept. 5, the Borough Council announced it would not vote on the matter after all, opting instead to forward the bar's application to the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). The borough's nondecision follows six months of rowdy public meetings, several public face-offs between the mayor and a top-ranking police officer, allegations of illegal activity at the bar, and at one point, the mayor's claim that he used profanity at a meeting because he accidentally split his pants, not because he was heckling the officer, as others believed. The council's prolonged inaction may be cause for a lawsuit, Merla said, noting the borough has long passed the legal 60-day deadline for making a decision. "That's a lawsuit right there," the mayor told reporters Sept. 5 during a break in the council meeting. At the time, the councilmen were still expected to vote on the matter that evening as it was listed on the agenda. "I hope they deny it," Merla said, adding, at this point, it would be easier to have it approved by the state board. So why didn't the council simply forgo the decision back in March when the bar's application was originally submitted? According to Councilman Robert Bergen, there is "gray area" regarding Merla's personal interest in the bar. "In my opinion, I believe the borough could have taken action on this application, given the unclear status of the law," Bergen said after the midnight announcement. "But because of the gray area, the council determined it made the most sense to defer action to the attorney general." Bergen defined gray area as legal issues that can be easily argued either way. Since the mayor works at the establishment as the daytime manager and his brother owns it, his interest in the bar can be both direct or indirect according to the law, Bergen said. But why does the mayor's personal interest in the bar matter? It doesn't, according to Merla. After excusing himself from the late-night closed session, Merla stood outside borough hall with residents, talking about the application process. The real reason behind the delays are political, said the mayor, who then pointed to several local bars that are allowed to serve alcohol on outdoor decks and patios, but have not had to undergo such intense scrutiny. "They told me to go to the Uptown and wait on the deck," Merla joked while exiting the closed-session meeting. Months of contentious hearings The no-ruling was an anticlimactic ending to the drama-fueled hearings that accompanied the Uptown's application. In April, before a packed audience at borough hall, a handful of residents charged the Merla brothers with everything from skirting property taxes by building the deck on church property, allowing patrons to urinate in the hallway of a neighboring apartment building, and above all, causing late-night ruckuses in the street. Things worsened further when Keyport Police Capt. Thomas Mitchell testified that multiple investigations into the Uptown Bar & Grille were cause not to expand the license. Mayor Merla, seated in the back of the room, heckled loudly at some of the speakers, especially Mitchell, saying, "You ain't got nothing," "Cinco de Mayo" and "Go ahead and laugh." At one point, believing he saw Mitchell laugh at the mention of his recently deceased mother, Merla angrily used expletives. He later apologized, saying it was a mistake. "I stood up and ripped my pants and said, 'Oh sh-,' " Merla said May 2. Mitchell maintains he never laughed at the late Mrs. Merla.