City approves all but one liquor license

• City Hall

City Hall

Talk about it

The City Council considered at its May 22 and June 12 meetings the renewal requests for all alcohol-related licenses -- which expire June 30 -- and approved each except for the Corner Saloon’s. The issue was over its agent getting cited last September for being open after hours.

The council agreed Tuesday to notify the bar’s listed agent, owner John Peterson, of the pending non-renewal as well as establish a date when he can appeal the likely decision.

Upon seeing the citation with the renewal request at the late-May meeting, council member Scott Morrissette asked for time to do a legal review.

That included a report from Police Chief Roger Leque with a River Falls Municipal Court report listing an OUI charge.

The list shows a zero in the “occurrence” column for the charge, which Peterson reported as pending on his 2010 liquor-license renewal application.

The report also included information about provisions in the state laws and municipal code 12.03 that are specific about alcohol-related offenses within three years of application being grounds for refusal.

Other discussions about renewals included council member Christopher Gagne pulling the applications asking to license an outdoor area: Bo’s ‘N Mine, Emma’s, Johnnie’s, the West Wind, and St. Croix Lanes.

Gagne wanted to get more information about how alcohol was being controlled in those outdoor areas.

He said they should be enclosed in a fence and wondered where and when servers are on duty.

Excluding the bowling alley, since its license will not apply to the volleyball court, Gagne made separate motions to delay each application.

The city attorney, however, agreed with council member Tom Calfisch when he said: “We should apply current standards.”

Apparently the other council members agreed since each of Gagne’s motions died due to lack of a second vote, after which the council approved the licenses.

Council member Jim Nordgren suggested an amendment that passed -- that the outdoor portion of Mel’s Midtowner application become active only after a potential deck structure is permitted, built and approved by city inspectors.

Tags: government, business, news, wisconsin