Liquor Control Board - December 15, 2021 Minutes
LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD
December 15, 2021 1:30 P.M.
Present: Commissioner Piepkorn, Kay Schwarzwalter, John Stibbe, Lydia Tackett,
Absent: Robert Nelson
Others Present: Police Chief David Zibolski, City Auditor Sprague, City Attorney Nancy Morris, Rick Carik, Rick’s; Duane Litton, Duffy’s; Jim Swanick Empire and other interested parties.
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 November 17, 2021 and the special meeting December 13, 2021. There were no additions or correction to the minutes of November 17, 2021 and the special meeting December 13, 2021. Moved by Tackett, seconded by Schwarzwalter to approve the minutes of November 17, 2021 and the special meeting December 13, 2021 of the Liquor Control Board all voted in favor, motion passed unanimously.
2. A. Application to issue a Class F alcoholic beverage license to BPC Fargo LLC d/b/a Boss’ Pizza & Chicken to be located at 228 Broadway.
Chief Zibolski commented there are no concerns with owner Jeremy Seefeldt, however, he has serious concerns with the manager Lisa Knoell. Ms. Knoell self reported a 2019 Possession of Drug Paraphernalia in South Dakota and there was a 2021 conviction for possession of MJ Drug Paraphernalia in Grand Forks. Due to the recent nature of these charges along with the drug use history, even though they were disclosed, the potential risk to the business and the citizens is greater than the Chief can recommend. Chief Zibolski is recommending denial.
Mr. Seefeldt spoke at length regarding Ms. Knoell, her meth addiction, employment history and getting a second chance. Once she got a second chance she has dedicated herself to the company that gave her that opportunity. She has become the companies best employee and has repeatedly turned the most underperforming store in the company into the top performing store. Jeremy said they take liquor licensing seriously and would never do anything to jeopardize the ability to hold a liquor license. Ms. Knoell said she is appreciative of the opportunity Boss’ Pizza has given her and she would never do anything that would hurt the company.
Commissioner Piepkorn indicated another manager without the recent history shown here would be appreciated, this will set a precedent. Schwatzwalter said she has a vision for downtown where the saturation of alcohol licenses is reduced; we need to consider the number of licenses in the downtown area. Citizens need to feel safe, businesses need to be successful. Tackett commented Lisa has made great strides and become invaluable to the business, she questioned the various laws between states, she said she would support Lisa being on the liquor license; perhaps marijuana laws in South Dakota are not as severe as North Dakota. Stibbe questioned the rules on infractions. Chief Zibolski responded with narcotics it is two or more incidents in two years. The Grand Forks incident there was marijuana however she was only charged with paraphernalia, she was also stopped in South Dakota with the same type incident. His experience shows you open yourself to potential of drug issues.
Moved by Stibbe, seconded by Piepkorn to approve the issuance of the alcoholic beverage license pending a new manager. Voting in favor Piepkorn, Stibbe; voting against, Schwarzwalter, Tackett. Motion fails for lack of majority vote.
Moved by Stibbe, seconded by Tackett to table the application until the January Liquor Board meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
3. Sprague reported the annual liquor audits have been completed, the auditors checked on 32 licenses, 31 were in compliance, the one that not in compliance was determined to not need to be audited. Sprague was happy to report there were no businesses not in compliance with the ordinances.
4. Chief Zibolski discussed the monthly reports. Stibbe commented that he was happy to see officers patrolling in the downtown area. Tackett said she reviewed the reports to see if there were some red flags, she thought there were a high number of fights, is this a higher frequency. Chief responded they are rolling out new technology that will allow them to track trends in areas; it will help analyze obvious trends where there is over serving and bouncer issues. Schwarzwalter would like to move forward with three areas, she is wondering the process for bringing ideas forward. Morris replied, a motion from the Board to seek city Commission direction to change ordinances. Schwarzwalter would like to engage the bar owners in how we can improve safety. Chief responded we are meeting with bar owners trying to set up Uber pick up areas, could there be training that could be offered? Bar fights generate a multitude of issues.
There being no further business to come before the Liquor Control Board, the meeting was adjourned at 2:06 p.m.