| By Big Radio News Staff |
The city of Janesville’s liquor board OK’s the first liquor license ever to be shared between two businesses in the city’s downtown.
On Tuesday, the Alcohol License Advisory Committee OK’d Janesville city council member Rich Neeno’s request that two next-door businesses he owns, grocery Lark Market and restaurant Sandwich Bar, be allowed to share a single, class B liquor license.
The liquor board gave unanimous approval despite concerns the city had put Neeno’s request on the docket even though it appeared he’d filed paperwork days late for city deadlines on annual liquor license renewals.
Newly sworn-in liquor board chairwoman Heather Miller says she raised the issue out of concern it could appear as though Neeno was seeing favoritism because he’s on the city council.
She asked the city Tuesday to “clarify,” saying that any possible perception of impropriety could be construed as “an ugly thing.”
City Clerk Lori Stottler says Neeno’s paperwork wasn’t late because of anything he’d done wrong; she said it was an oversight at the clerk’s office. She says the state sent out new liquor license forms just days before the city’s deadline for annual license renewals, and that caused confusion among city staff and businesses seeking license renewals.
Stottler denies Neeno got any special treatment in the city waiving his late paperwork. She says the city excused multiple other businesses who were late this spring filing to renew their liquor licenses. She says it was “a lot going on,” and the city was trying to be fair and “business-friendly” amid confusion over new state paperwork.
Miller was named the liquor board’s new chairwoman on Tuesday — a designation the city made in a coin toss on the floor at City Hall amid a repeated tie vote by Alcohol License Advisory Committee members split between Miller and veteran liquor board member George Brunner.
Miller called heads and won the coin toss.
She replaces outgoing liquor board chairman Paul Williams, who failed to get reappointed to the committee after serving on it for 16 years.
Williams publicly suggested in April the city snubbed his application to re-join the liquor board after he dug in last year against some liquor licensing requests he said were favored by downtown business interests.
Neeno says his switch to a shared license at Lark Market and Sandwich Bar is mainly to save him on separate paperwork and licensing fees. An owner of another downtown establishment, Genisa wine bar, also intends to share a liquor license with a next door property.
Stottler tells liquor board member Mathew Sikich, the city researched how state law applied in a similar situation in the village of Kohler. She says the law appears to allow side-by-side businesses to share a liquor license as long as a single license holder controls the properties.
Sikich, a bar owner, told Stottler the city’s read on the law appears to open a loophole, saying he wonders if it means somebody who owns a strip mall can turn the property into one long, contiguous block of liquor-licensed properties under a single license–an arrangement he indicated could sidestep a license quota.
Stottler said state law probably would allow such an arrangement.
“All that is is dodging licenses,” Sikich said.
New liquor board member Dave Marshick, who also is the city council President, told Sikich the city’s read on state rules is simply “the law,” to which Sikich responded: “Janesville doesn’t go by the law; we make our own (laws) here.”
