SAN ANTONIO \u2013 An iconic gay nightclub may be able keep the dance party going, though with less dancers on the floor.<\/p>\n
Patrick Christensen, an attorney for Bonham Exchange, confirmed it signed an agreement with the city on Thursday to remain open with reduced occupancy while it installs a years-overdue, required sprinkler system. <\/p>\n
A city spokesman later told KSAT the city was reviewing the agreement and working towards finalizing it Friday. <\/p>\n
KSAT has requested a copy of the agreement, but has not received it yet.<\/p>\n
Though the deal would keep the city from shutting down Bonham completely, it would reportedly cut its current occupancy of roughly 650 people by more than half \u2014 to less than 300 people \u2014 while work on a sprinkler system gets underway. <\/p>\n
The agreement came before the city council was scheduled to discuss a possible deadline extension for bars like Bonham to install the requisite automatic sprinklers, without reducing their occupancy. <\/p>\n
After a closed-door discussion, however, council members postponed the issue until Feb. 12. <\/p>\n
General Manager Joan Duckworth was visibly emotional as she left council chambers before the city council reconvened. She confirmed she had reached an agreement, but declined to comment further.<\/p>\n
Duckworth previously said she needed time to raise money for the estimated $550,000 sprinkler system and that restricting occupancy to less than 300 people \u201cwould virtually shutter us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones told reporters the deal would reduce the initial occupancy to less than 300 while the club installs sprinklers on the first floor, and raise it to 343 while it works on the second floor.<\/p>\n
Jones did not know the exact occupancy level Bonham would be allowed once the project was completed, but said the club would have about six months to complete each of the phases.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally reached out to Joan Duckworth to let her know, \u2018I\u2019m willing to help you, but this place has to be safe,\u2019\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
The mayor said she agreed to help fundraise for the bar, which she said was a \u201cspecial place\u201d for her.<\/p>\n
Jones, who is openly gay, said she visited Bonham while she was still in the U.S. Air Force Reserve under the now-repealed \u201cdon\u2019t ask, don\u2019t tell\u201d policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this has always, for me, been about making sure that that place is safe. And I think we got to a resolution that helps do that. And now I\u2019m on the hook for helping to raise money,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I know the community will rally to make sure that the Bonham Exchange continues to operate for another 40 years, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the postponed item, there was confusion over what happens next.<\/p>\n
Christensen told reporters the city hadn\u2019t signed the deal yet and characterized it as \u201cstill open to negotiations,\u201d while one of the council members who had put the possible deadline extension on the agenda, Jalen McKee-Rodriguez (D2), said he had been informed staff had signed the deal.<\/p>\n
McKee-Rodriguez also told reporters that the issue would be \u201cadministratively withdrawn\u201d by \u201cthe city,\u201d and he did not believe it would be on next week\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I would convey is that it is all a moot point,\u201d McKee-Rodriguez said. \u201cThe item was a moot point because the compliance agreement was signed this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
A city spokesman later told KSAT agreement was under review.<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1), who had led the charge to try to get Bonham more time to comply with the sprinkler requirement, declined to comment. <\/p>\n
BACKGROUND<\/p>\n
The city says Bonham Exchange, which opened in 1981, is more than two years overdue to retrofit its 1891 building with automatic sprinklers.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio City Council changed its fire code in June 2018 to require bars and nightclubs that hold more than 300 people to either install sprinklers or reduce the number of people they let in. <\/p>\n