Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Howard Lake citizens heard on Sand Bar purchase



The city council listened to a very vocal public and canceled
its idea about purchasing the Sand Bar and Grill as a new home for the city’s
on-sale liquor business.

Despite the early 7 a.m special meeting time, last Monday,
more than 40 residents and business owners filled the council chambers to
state their objections to the purchase of the property.

Mayor Gerry Smith opened with a recap of the sequence of
events that led up to the special meeting.

He said, on June 26 at a special council meeting, the council
decided to investigate the possibility of the purchase of the Sand Bar and
Grill for city use.

Smith said, “We met with department heads (to discuss
the idea).”

Then, an informational portion of the regular July 18 meeting
was announced in the Herald, Smith said.

At the regular meeting, Smith gave a presentation on the
information the city had at that time about needed space at the city hall
and about the results of other cities moving or remodeling liquor stores.

Comments heard by the council at the July 18 meeting resulted
in the issue being tabled until the council had time to digest those comments,
Smith said.

The city offices need more space. It would be to the city’s
advantage to expand the liquor operation, if the results other cities have
had are any indication, he said.

After the recap of events by Smith, the meeting was opened
to comments from the public.

Vern Kleve said he was opposed at the Tuesday meeting,
and he is still opposed to the idea.

The city shouldn’t be in direct competition with private
enterprise, he said.

Also, the city did not include projections of the cost
of operations and income for the on-sale business at the Sand Bar location,
he said.

If it doesn’t work, the city is imposing a new tax on the
people, because the liquor operation would pay the difference, instead of
the money going into the general fund, as it does now, Kleve said.

With the new water tower to be paid for and a proposed
new high school, Kleve felt the city residents already had enough to pay
for.

Smith replied that he understood the concern about a lack
of financial projections.

He also stated the intent was for no new taxes to support
the business.

John Deitering felt three weeks of investigation and discussion
is just not enough time to determine if this is the right decision for the
city.

“There are so many unanswered questions,” he
said.

One question is whether the city should even be in the
liquor business, Deitering said.

“How could you make it work, when the former owners
failed?” he asked.

“In your presentation,” Darrell Main said, “you
had five towns that moved and made a profit.

“How many (towns) lost money? Where does it go if
it doesn’t fly? You say everything is going to be no new taxes, but that
won’t happen, if it doesn’t work. Taxpayers will pick it up,” he said.

“We talked to professional people that are in the
liquor store business,” Smith said.

No cities in Minnesota remodeled or moved and went out
of business, he said.

Fran Wren said, “We have a business in Silver Lake
that lost money for five years, and Buffalo and Maple Lake quit the liquor
business (on-sale).”

Jean Schmidt said the meeting of the 22nd, where the purchase
of the Sand Bar was discussed, was a special meeting. There were two items
on the agenda, and the Sand Bar was not one of them. It was added at the
beginning of the meeting.

If the public knew about it, she felt the reaction would
have been apparent to the council sooner.

“This building (community center and library) is in
desperate need of (expansion). It is used by more people in a more productive
way (than the on-sale),” she said.

John Lideen told the council, “We hear things and
we react. I find it hard to believe there isn’t a cheaper way. The city
had five possibilities (for more city space) at the last meeting. There
have to be more ways.”

The council took time to respond to the various remarks.

Councilman Don Danford said, “I’ve been at Mayo (Clinic)
for the last six weeks and have been outside looking in. The idea, at first,
was to investigate the possibilities. I’m disappointed people jumped the
gun.”

A lot of what has been going on has been misconstrued,
he said.

“We are here to do what the city wants,” Danford
said.

“Last meeting, I sat and listened,” Councilman
John Swanson said.

“There is a need for space at the city hall, and,
as Don said, this is just another thought,” Swanson said.

Also, he felt the banquet facilities at the Sand Bar might
have made some additional money for the city.

He felt the cost of purchasing one of the older homes on
Highway 12, as suggested at a previous meeting, is not financially practical
for the city.

“There is no cloak and dagger here,” he said.

Swanson was upset that people had made threatening phone
calls, when there are other alternatives to communicating with council people.

“If this does not go through, we still need space.
If the public wants a new building, it would cost twice as much (as the
Sand Bar). Maybe it does need more study,” he said.

Smith said “We have made a promise (when we were elected)
to listen to the residents.”

“Comments made behind our backs, when someone threatens
a person’s business and livelihood, it is degrading to a community,”
Smith stated.

“We have listened to emotional points, no factual
points. This council will always do the best thing for this town in its
entirety,” he said.

Danford suggested the council “table the idea and
just let it go by.”

He felt the council should find other ways to deal with
the space problem.

The mayor took a roll call of the council, and each member
stated his position.

Councilman Shelly Reddemann voted to table the purchase.
He felt the council needed time to study the situation, knowing it had to
do something.

Swanson voted to table the purchase. Without figures on
potential profit, (impact on) private businesses, or moving off Highway
12, he felt the idea needed more investigation.

The teen center, which is above the liquor store, needs
to be moved from the liquor store area and the “bar flies,” according
to Swanson.

Councilman Tom Kutz also voted to table the issue, but
he told the gathering that the bank put the council “under the gun
to get done as soon as possible.”

The $400,000 the council was to pay for the property was
not the discounted price that is usually given on a bankrupt property, he
said.

“We are back to square one on the city hall (space)
issue,” said Danford.

This has been an ongoing issue since he moved here four
years ago, Danford said.

Looking at the early morning crowd, Danford said, “This
is involvement.”

“We need people to be proactive. Please give us your
opinions before the fact,” he said.

Smith said, “I agree with the rest. I just want you
to understand we are going to listen. We are going to have to solve the
space problems, one way or another.”

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