COOS BAY — Coos Bay’s police chief says someone will be killed or seriously injured if Mak’s Old City Hall Lounge continues to serve alcohol.

City and state officials are taking steps to revoke the city’s downtown night club liquor license. Its fate could be decided as early as next month.

The City Council recommended denial of Mak’s Old City Hall Lounge’s license renewal on Tuesday, joining an Oregon administrative law judge in condemning the bar. Both relied on evidence from Coos Bay police, who depicted Mak’s as the site of frequent alcohol-related problems.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is scheduled to decide on the bar’s license Aug. 20. The licensee has the option to appeal the decision, though the bar probably would have to close during that process if the license is canceled, an OLCC spokeswoman said.

“We do not wish to close any business in town,” Police Chief Rodger Craddock said after Tuesday’s council meeting, “but it is our responsibility to the public to ensure their safety.”

The night club was granted a liquor license in June 2007. When the license came up for renewal the following year, Craddock initially wanted the council to recommend denial because of frequent police responses to the bar and surrounding blocks of Central Avenue.

Instead, they delayed making a decision at the June 17 council meeting. The following day, the OLCC issued the owners a citation charging them with having a history of serious and persistent problems, Craddock said. The OLCC also issued a citation charging one of the owners with assaulting a patron, as well as two citations for serving alcohol to minors.

Since last summer’s meeting in which the liquor license renewal was discussed, police have answered 86 alcohol-related calls related to Mak’s, Craddock said. All other bars in the city combined had 76 calls, he said.

Coos Bay police officers attended a hearing in April before an administrative law judge, Robert L. Goss. In a 28-page decision, Goss agreed that the violations were severe enough to warrant canceling the license. He noted that the licensees said a fine would be more appropriate. They argued that no firearms or other weapons were involved in any of the incidents, and no serious injuries or felony arrests resulted, the decision said.

Goss was unconvinced, noting precedents in which licenses were canceled for similar offenses.

The bar’s licensees are Gregory Rudolfs, Melanie Clark and Denise Olsen. They did not attend Tuesday’s council meeting, nor did their lawyer, James Monsebroten. Voice mail messages left at Mak’s and at Monsebroten’s law office were not returned.

The council voted 6-0 to recommend denial of the liquor license. Councilor John Pundt abstained.