Liquor Control Board - April 17, 2019 Minutes
LIQUOR CONTROL COMMITTEE MEETING
April 17, 2019 1:30 P.M.
Present: Commissioner Piepkorn, Commissioner Gehrig, Police Chief Todd, City Auditor Sprague, Grant Larson, Environmental Health,
Absent: None
Others Present: Assistant City Attorney Nancy Morris; Rick Carik, Rick’s; Dustin Mitzel, Happy Harry’s, Duane Litton, Duffy’s; Rusty Papachek, Joel Vettel, Fargo Park Board, Kelly Visto, Big Erv’s; Hung Tang, Pho Delicious; Joe Burgum, Carol Schlossman, Josi Danz, Downtown Neighborhood Association, Other members of the media, concerned citizens and other members of the industry.
Meeting was called to order at 1:30 P.M.
1. Commissioner Piepkorn called the meeting to order and asked if there were any additions or corrections to the minutes of March 20, 2019. There were no additions or corrections to the minutes of March 20, 2019. Moved by Todd, seconded by Gehrig to approve the minutes of the March 20, 2019 meeting of the Liquor Control Board all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
2. A. The first application to consider today is the issuance of a Class “H” alcoholic beverage license to Pho D’Licious, Inc. d/b/a Pho D’Licious located at 623 NP Avenue. The issues regarding a building permit have been resolved.
Moved by Gehrig, seconded by Larson to approve the issuance of a Class “H” alcoholic beverage license to Pho D’Licious, Inc. d/b/a Pho D’Licious located at 623 NP Avenue. Motion approved unanimously.
B. The second application to consider today is the name change and location transfer for a Class FA alcoholic beverage license from Barbacoa ND LLC d/b/a Barbacoa located at 3241 42nd Street South to Barbacoa ND LLC d/b/a Chef’s Table Private Dining and Events to be located at 670 4th Avenue North. Sprague mentioned Barbacoa is moving the liquor license to the Sanctuary Events Center locating the license in the kitchen part of the building, that section is not a part of the Sanctuary’s liquor premise. The intent is to use the license for a catering business; there will be no on premise dining or consumption. Every time they use the license, they will have to apply for a special events E permit.
Moved by Gehrig, seconded by Larson to approve the name change and location transfer for a Class FA alcoholic beverage license from Barbacoa ND LLC d/b/a Barbacoa located at 3241 42nd Street South to Barbacoa ND LLC d/b/a Chef’s Table Private Dining and Events to be located at 670 4th Avenue North. Motion passed.
C. The third application to consider today is for the issuance of a Class I alcoholic beverage license to BCWB ND LLC d/b/a Black Coffee and Waffle Bar to be located at 550 2nd Avenue North. No issues or concerns were discovered in the background check.
Moved by Gehrig, seconded by Larson to approve the issuance of a Class I alcoholic beverage license to BCWB ND LLC d/b/a Black Coffee and Waffle Bar to be located at 550 2nd Avenue North. Motion passed.
D. The fourth application to be considered today is for the transfer of a Class FA-Golf alcoholic beverage license from ERL Inc. d/b/a Seasons at Rose Creek to Big Erv’s Bar & Grill LLC d/b/a Big Erv’s @ Rose Creek to be located at 1500 Rose Creek Parkway South. This license transfer will complete the process of changing the Rose Creek operator, the building ownership was changed last year. There were a few issues raised in the background checks, however, Chief Todd said they were more than 10 years old and following the recommendations developed previously would not prevent the issuance of the license.
Moved by Gehrig, seconded by Larson to approve the transfer of a Class FA-Golf alcoholic beverage license from ERL Inc. d/b/a Seasons at Rose Creek to Big Erv’s Bar & Grill LLC d/b/a Big Erv’s @ Rose Creek to be located at 1500 Rose Creek Parkway South. Motion passed.
3. Attorney Morris referred to a memo she prepared for the Liquor Control Board regarding a penalty matrix. She said the direction she received from the Liquor Board was to prepare ordinance changes needed to adopt the penalty matrix developed by the subcommittee. After careful consideration, she concluded adopting the matrix would be more difficult than first anticipated. She met with Chief Todd and Auditor Sprague to discuss, it was determined it would be beneficial to have a matrix of current ordinances. She and her staff prepared a penalty matrix based on the existing ordinances, upon review; it appears some of the existing ordinances are stricter than the proposed ordinances. In addition, some of the proposed changes have already occurred. At this time, she is seeking further direction.
Piepkorn suggested we continue to have discussions at the Liquor Board meetings rather than having a subcommittee. He also suggested posting the matrix on the web site to seek input. Larson indicated West Fargo is in the process of establishing a liquor board, once it is in place he will share their makeup with the Liquor Board, he is aware they will be conducting an annual review of licensees.
Chief Todd commented shortening the number of violations from 7 to 5 days of suspension could affect businesses ability to keep the doors open. He also feels the time for a reset of the penalties should be a revolving time period.
There being no further business to come before the Liquor Control Board, the meeting was adjourned at 1:50 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at 1:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room.