Posted at: 11/16/2009 10:54 PM
Updated at: 11/17/2009 8:07 AM
By: Kristin Martin

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Social Host Ordinance for Austin

(ABC 6 NEWS) - It was a packed house at the Austin city council meeting as people came to see if the council would pass a social host ordinance, making it a misdemeanor to host a gathering where alcohol is consumed by minors.

There were cheers in the crowd as the Austin city council unanimously passed a social host ordinance.

"It's just really important to the city of Austin,” says 6th grader Jared Meinke.

Many residents feel that the new ordinance will combat a problem that Austin is facing with its youth.

“We know that in our community youth access to alcohol is a significant problem,” says Austin Police Chief Paul Philipp.

“Give the education to parents and young adults out there that says...we need to do something about alcohol use in your home,” says Thor Bergland, a member of the Austin Area Drug Task Force. The task force put together the proposal for the social host ordinance.

Police Chief Paul Philipp says it's not necessarily parents hosting but young adults, “I would say that probably the majority of those are the 22, 23, 24-year-olds that still have friends or connections that are minors."

Lea Oelfke advises the “WORD" group which stands for “We oppose and resist drugs,” and for her students the new ordinance serves a lesson, “alcohol use amongst youth is a problem and there's something that we can do about that."

16-year-old Lakin came with her younger brother to show him the importance of the new law and she says, “You have that insight and you actually know what they're going through because you've been at that age."

And if you ask him what he learned after watching 7 city council members vote yes on the new ordinance he says, “It's really important not to drink because there are huge consequences."

The ordinance will go into effect after November 28th. Mower County is now also considering adopting a social host ordinance for the entire county. The county will vote sometime next month.