At this week’s borough council meeting, members acknowledged the upcoming holiday and assured residents that police are prepared to handle a spike in alcohol-related incidents.

"It makes us all aware of some of the issues facing our town with the proliferation of entertainment venues and the volume of liquor licenses," Councilwoman Holly Brown said. "I think that we have a council that is very serious about what is going on here."

Police Chief Scott Bohn said he was counting on the cooperation of owners of area establishments to manage the number of people they allow inside and help take care of alcohol-related issues. Last year, each arrest officers made was alcohol-related, he said.

Bohn said the large crowds the borough typically gets on St. Patrick’s Day does create a burden on the police department, but he said the department would be "staffed accordingly" on Friday.

Michael A. Perrone, director of building, housing and codes enforcement, said code enforcement officers would be randomly entering borough establishments to ensure compliance with fire codes and occupancy limits. Bars that are overcrowded face a maximum fine of $1,000, and if the situation is considered hazardous, code enforcement officers have the authority to empty the bar and count each person as they walk back in.

Ruth Ann Gallagher, owner/manager of Jitters Sports Bar on Gay Street, said her doorman counts each person who comes in to make sure they don’t go over their 91-person occupancy. Although Christmas Eve is the busiest night of the year for Jitters, the combination of St. Patrick’s Day and the NCAA tournament on Friday had Gallagher expecting a large turnout.

Kildare’s Irish Pub, however, was another story. It was the only bar on Gay Street with a line stretching out the door that early in the evening. A stretch Escalade was parked in front of the establishment, and about 20 people were standing outside.

There was a large crowd in Ryan’s Pub, with only a narrow path leading from one end of the bar to another. Every table was full and the bar was packed about six people deep waiting to get a drink.

Three girls dressed wearing green shirts and decorative headpieces crossed Church Street at Gay Street heedless of the traffic. When a couple of cars honked at them, they responded by making offensive gestures and shouting expletives.

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