The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
At the regular Village of Stronghurst board meeting held on Monday, November 6, Sara Evans of Stronghurst, approached the board requesting a liquor license. Robert and Gary Root had requested a license previously.
Evans is considering purchasing the previous Broadway Caf and expand on the operation by offering an alcoholic beverage with meals. She is planning to be open from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., seven days a week. She will be the owner and operator of the establishment. Evans told the board she has had 19 years of experience in serving alcoholic beverages and could pass a back ground check, as she has no felonies.
When asked about renovations to the building, Evans said if she received a liquor license she would remove the counter and put in a straight high top bar. She is also contemplating adding a handicap bathroom and a ramp at the front door.
Evans said, "I'm not trying to open a bar in Stronghurst, I mean I just want to spend hours in the cafˇ, be able to offer an alcohol beverage with meals. I want basically to add on to what the cafˇ was offering. I look at it as the cafˇ was a place I grew up in going in to eat breakfast with my dad every day of the week when I was little."
Mayor Brendan Schaley said most of the board members had met and decided on a liquor ordinance designed after the ordinance Carthage uses. He said the ordinance is ready to go to the attorney for his review. The board should be prepared to hand out a license(s) in December or January. According to Schaley, the ordinance will state, 3 licenses will be available at the discretion of the board. Times for serving alcohol beverages are set as Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday--1 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday--1 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday-1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Schaley went on to say the ordinance is pretty restrictive and any violations would be cause for the license to be revoked. These licenses does not allow package liquor to be sold. The ordinance will also state a license can be purchased for a one time fundraiser or event.
Police Chief Arbry Vancil had the following report for October: 103 hours worked; 553 miles on the squad car; 6 services calls (2 calls with county and state police); 1 arrest; and 20 business checks.
Chris Cooper of MSA reported the fire hydrant by the bank should have a bag on it since it is inoperable due to the new water main being installed. MSA has reviewed the drawings for the electrical work at the well house and it appears the scheduled time for installing will be running behind by several weeks. The 5th pay application in the amount of $37,790.05 has been given to Morgan Lewis. This payment is for the water main connection to the tower, some for erosion control and some for traffic control, while the main was being installed.
Mike Bohnenkamp questioned a bill for mileage Cooper had turned in. Cooper stated he charged for mileage to and from the meetings but not the hours it took to drive here. This will not cause them to pay more than the original contract price which is for $108,900.
Clerk Morgan Lewis and Ronnie Gittings had looked at the sketches for painting the water tower and were not content with the way the three colors were spaced. Cooper said he was unaware there was a problem until arriving at the meeting so had no papers or sketches with him to discuss the problem. Lewis said their sketches had been put away. The majority of the board members thought the colors would be 1/3 each. Cooper said he would rather wait until the December meeting to discuss the final decision, when he would have papers and sketches, so they could discuss it intelligently.
In other business:
The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. until Monday, December 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Present were: Mayor Brendan Schaley; Trustees, Mike Bohnenkamp, Shane Reed, Bruce Caldwell, David Vancil, Jerry Nortrup, (absent Amanda Kane); Employees Clerk Morgan Lewis, Ronnie Gittings, Police Chief Arbry Vancil; Guests, David Knutstrom, Chris Cooper, MSA, Stacey Newberry, Lori Taylor, Betty Waterman, Bob Manning, Sara Evans, Virginia Ross, Randy Jarvis, Gary Root, Robert Root, Shirley Linder