Delano Herald Journal

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

Winsted organization may get pulltabs in Waverly



Trouble over pulltabs between the Waverly Lions and Uptown
Bar was one of several subjects that kept the Waverly City Council hopping
Tuesday.

Bar owner Jim Walter attended the meeting to persuade the
council to issue a gambling license to the Winsted Fire Relief Association,
since he parted ways with the Lions over pulltabs last month and approached
Winsted with the idea.

The council discussed the issue with Walter and the Waverly
Lions at a special council meeting Aug. 28.

During the special meeting, a personality conflict was
noted between Dale Lorentz of the Lions and Walter.

At first, allegations were made by the Lions about improper
handling of pulltabs by the bar staff, but these were proved unfounded,
after the state picked up and audited 10 boxes of pull tabs, said Clerk
Deb Ryks.

In fact, the responsibility rests with the Lions or whatever
gambling entity is doing the pulltabs, not the bar owner, for the proper
handling of pulltabs, Ryks said.

If anything improper was found, the Lions, not Walter,
would have been fined.

During the special meeting, council members asked both
parties to work together since they were both losing money over the rift.

Lorentz agreed to work with Walter, but Walter refused
to work with the Lions because Lions members mistreated his staff, he said.

Since that meeting, the council and mayor formulated a
plan to handle the situation by setting guidelines Tuesday in how the money
is spent, since it could not legally deny a permit to an out-of-town gambling
entity, if this was desired.

Mayor Charlie Bush outlined the plan, which would require
80 percent of the money to be spent inside the Waverly area, 10 percent
given to the city, and 10 percent for the bar owner to keep.

This requirement would apply to any gambling entity, whether
it is the Lions or the Winsted association.

Nevertheless, Walter protested this arrangement. “Winsted
will give us 20 percent,” which is the maximum he can keep, he said.

This was not the city’s concern, Bush said, saying that
the council is interested in doing what is best for the city.

It was noted that the Winsted Fire Department serves Woodland
Township in its coverage.

Council Member Ken Hausladen asked Walter if he approached
any other eligible Waverly organizations, such as the Lake Association,
Waverly Boosters, or St. Mary’s, to name a few.

Walter said that the boosters were not interested in the
gambling portion, although they would like to be on the list of recipient
funds, he said.

The lake association is interested, reported Jim Woitalla
of the parks department, although they only just heard of the situation
in the past week.

Walter protested that the process wasn’t that simple or
quick, and that the lake association would actually have to send members
to a class in order to be eligible. This would take time, which is costing
him money, Walter said.

Hausladen pointed out that the lake association would be
interested in such subjects as improving the ballpark; and this could benefit
the bar down the road.

Walter acknowledged this, but pressed the council to make
a decision about granting even a temporary license to someone, possibly
transferring it from Winsted to Waverly when the lake association was ready.

“I’m losing money,” he said.

Hausladen was midway making a motion to do this, but was
interrupted by Bush saying “We don’t want to set that precedent.”

The council decided to adopt the ordinance, but wait with
granting the license until the details could be worked out.

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