ROCK SPRINGS — An ordinance that sought to require workers serving alcoholic drinks in Rock Springs to receive third-party training quietly died Tuesday evening when the Council failed to remove it from the table. 

The ordinance was on its third reading and would have required businesses to provide server training similar to the TIPS (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) program. The ordinance was tabled during the Council’s prior meeting to give the Council a chance to receive more input from business owners. Shae Haney of the Sweetwater County Prevention Coalition, spoke about increasing TIPS trainers to make them more available to avoid trainer burnout and making the program free for anyone, but the ordinance also faced opposition as well.

Sweetwater County Commissioner Island Richards, representing his Kelly’s Convenience Centers business, told the Council an ordinance isn’t the best way to address over-serving alcohol and disagreed with the approach to require specific programs when manager-led training was more effective in his experience.

Richards returned Tuesday night, again urging the Council to not approve the ordinance. Richards said the way to solve the program involving a few bad actors isn’t to add regulation that impacts the good the good actors.

“We already have ordinances and statutes that address that behavior and I would like to see more focus put on that and solve that problem you have,” Richards said. “If we really want to talk about mandatory training across the board in the city, I would recommend we put this ordinance aside and have some stakeholder meetings and bring the entire community in to discuss that rather than try to solve that on a piece of paper.”

Richards said a similar discussion took place more than a decade ago, but the city decided not to seek an ordinance requiring training. He believes discussion about the issue can lead to a solution. He also said the Wyoming State Liquor Association, a statewide organization he serves on as a member of its board of directors, is working on an online and free solution to the issue, but said it likely won’t be available for at least the next two years.

Prior to the Council failing to re-introduce the ordinance from the table, Mayor Max Mickelson said he hopes residents understand when he brings an ordinance proposal before the Council, the intent is to have a conversation about it and not to say “this is the solution,” saying receiving feedback from people who know what they’re talking about is helpful to him.