MARTINSBURG, W.Va. – The West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration held the first of two hearings Tuesday night to discuss the private club license application for a pair of exotic dance clubs in Berkeley County.
Tuesday’s hearing gave the community a chance to weigh in on whether or not a license should be granted to Taboo Gentleman’s Club on Royal Crest Drive in Maritnsburg.
Public Information Director for the Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, Gary “Gig” Robinson ran the public forum at the Martinsburg Public Library.
He started off by reminding the attendees that the hearing was not to be an “adversarial meeting”.
Nearly 100 people attended the roughly two hour session.
The crowd was almost evenly divided on the topic of whether the club should be granted a license.
Many pastors from around the Eastern Panhandle spoke out against the club while a large group of employees from Taboo were also given time to speak for the business.
Many that were against the granting of the license referenced the county’s drug epidemic, the county noise ordinance, DUI’s in relation to those who leave the club at a late hour, and traffic restrictions.
Many people who spoke out against the club said that the business is a “magnet for crime”.
The club’s new owner, Jerry Hamman, said hopes to dispel any bad perception that people may have about Taboo Gentlemen’s Club.
Berkeley County Council President Doug Copenhaver attended the meeting.
He told WEPM News Hamman should consider changing the business’ name to help separate his business from prior controversies.
“If you want to change your image, you change your name,” said Copenhaver. “If you want to keep your same image and you want to do business the way it’s always been, you keep the name.”
Copenhaver said he supports private property rights but it can be tough when it affects the quality of life in the surrounding area.
The club’s supporters spoke about how the business helps support their families with flexible scheduling and living wages.
Victoria Quinn is a manager at Taboo and has worked there for 5 years.
She attended the hearing to the employees who depend on the income from the club to support their families.
“This place provides a lot of job opportunities for women who need it,” Quinn told WEPM. “We’re flexible. We give them something that other places cannot.”
Quinn spoke in support of the new owner saying he wants the club to be positive part of the community.
Hamman spoke at the hearing and declared that his business “will not have any drug problems”.
Supporters said the opposition is basing their concerns on popular misconceptions.
Robinson said after the meeting that everything went smoothly, with both sides remaining pretty respectful.
“The citizens were able to voice their concerns both for and against and gave us a lot of good information.”
A hearing focusing on the license for the Vixen’s Gentlemen’s club in Bunker Hill is set for Wednesday night at 6:00 in the Berkeley County Council Chambers.