How does the Sunday liquor sale bill affect municipalities? Dundas Council discussed that last night. Administrator John McCarthy said it depends on exactly what bill goes through. He said, “the Dundas ordinance is written so that the hours of operation can be basically equivalent to whatever the State statute says as amended”. If the bill is just an amendment, it would be up to the license holder to decide whether they open or not. If the law is written so there’s a separate license required for on-site sales then the ordinance would have to be changed. For off-site sales, such as 2 of the bars in town
, they don’t have to do anything. Speaking of liquor, McCarthy informed the Council that a new vendor may be coming to town and has applied for a liquor license. He said,”we’re currently doing a background check on the owners and managers of the proposed new liquor store”. That would be an MGM liquor store to be located in the former K-Mart building. Developers are working on a movie theater and more retail as well. Right now Firehouse Liquor, an independent store, is the only free-standing liquor store in Dundas. The City has very little say in what goes in those locations so long as they meet code. The only standout might be an adult oriented store. McCarthy’s full interview is online at kymn.net.
Farmington’s HPC gets funding cut and may be wiped from city code
Citing budget cuts, the Farmington City Council eliminated funding for its Heritage Preservation Commission, the body that protects and promotes a city’s historic properties. According to the Star Tribune, rising expenses and a reluctance to raise taxes also played a role. The city may even cut the commission itself. Mayor Todd Larson told the Strib that they could do without the commission and still keep the preservation. The commission costs the city about $8,000 annually, which includes hiring a consultant. The move, which happened last Fall, left some local preservation advocates and commission members left wondering if there were other reasons for the ax. On March 13th the council will discuss whether to cut references to the commission from city codes, essentially wiping out the commission. The council could then assign another group to make decisions about the city’s 16 historic properties.
Nfld EDA gives the nod for review of the City’s Business Subsidy Policy
The Northfield EDA was asked to give Staff permission to move forward with a review of their current Business Subsidy Policy. Economic Development Coordinator Nate Carlson said it was time as the current policy still includes a JOB-Z program that no longer exists. In 2013 Ehlers and Associates had recommended changes but there was no rush at the time. Community Development Director Chris Heineman added that this is very important for any business incentive or assistance moving forward. He said, “this actually was something that was discussed in detail over a serious of months last year when we were working on The Crossings project. We initiated the assistance based on the subsidy policy for that difficult rehabilitation project going back to 2014”. The Crossings Project includes a Fairfield Inn and other retail on the corner of Hwy 3 and 2nd street. Big Ten LLC was given subsidies including land and cash. [Of note is the area was first developed just before the crash of 2008 and never completed] The executive committee of the EDA will go over the recommendations from Staff and report back to the EDA with their recommendations. The full Authority will then have the opportunity to review and discuss the items, make recommendations of their own before it goes before the City Council as a Resolution.
