On the rocks

You can no longer buy alcohol from the City of Custer.

At its July 6 meeting, the Custer City Council voted to close its municipal liquor store by a 5-1 vote. The closure went into effect at 8 a.m. on Thursday, July 8. Alderman Duane Murphey was the lone council member to cast a vote against the immediate closure.

There were four different exit strategies for the store presented at the meeting—one by Mayor Harold Stickney, one by alderwoman Karen Schleining and two by alderman Ed Starr. Stickney’s proposal called for the store to stay open until Aug. 15, which, he said, would give the city an opportunity to net around $15,000 in profit. Schleining and Starr’s proposals all called for the store to be closed July 8.

City attorney Chris Beesley told the council Aug. 15 was the latest date the store could stay open by law, according to the state attorney general’s office.â��If the store is open past that date, the city would still be operating the store, and not exiting it, Beesley said.

The council discussed whether or not it wanted to lease the store out after it was closed, which would keep the building from being empty. Murphey said he would be favor of that if it was a lease that mandated the tenant be fully responsible for any repairs that came up in the building. The earliest someone could get into the store after the city went through the proper legal channels would be Aug. 1. It is unclear if there is any interest in someone leasing the building.

Some of the audience members took exception to the council’s consideration of leasing the building as a liquor store while the city goes through the process of taking inventory, replatting the land and declaring it, the building and the items in the store surplus, which will take a couple of months. Susan Culberson was among those. She said the vote said to close it, so it should be closed. Larry VanZetten agreed with her.

“Sixty-three percent of the people said close the store,”â��he said.â��“I think we should live with that vote.”

VanZetten said he has spoken to many attorneys who disagree with the attorney general’s position that the store could remain open while the city develops an exit strategy, saying the store should have been closed by June 15. He warned the issue could end up in court if the city chose to keep the store open.

“The attorney general can be wrong,”â��he said.

“So can you,”â��Stickney replied.

Murphey said he didn’t see any lawyers in the audience telling him they disagreed with the attorney general’s decision, and he didn’t hear anyone say it would be taken to court. He added that while the city had to close the store, it also had a commitment to the citizens of Custer to be financially sound while doing so.

Former alderman Terry Reetz took it a step further, saying the building shouldn’t remain a liquor store under anyone’s power. He said leasing it would still allow a liquor store to be run out of a municipal building.

“Iâ��don’t think that option is following the will of the people. The people said to close it,”â��he said.

After the vote was taken to close the store July 8, the council unanimously voted to surplus the inventory, and to advertise for sealed bids for the inventory.

As far as the liquor license, discussion was held as to whether to get it back out into the public as quickly as possible, or to hold it for now and make it available at the same auction at which the building and land will be sold. Local auctioneer Ron Bradeen was at the meeting, and said the license being available at the time of the auction would enhance the bidding process if someone wanted to continue to run a liquor store in the location.

In the end, the council decided to auction the license with the land and building, and will retain the license with no operating agreement for now. It will be the first item sold at the eventual auction. The council also said a list of the alcohol and consumables surplused at the store will be available to the public by July 14. The council approved the official resolution to close the liquor store at a special meeting July 7.

The closure of the liquor store ends a run of over 100 years during which the City of Custer has owned a liquor store. The liquor store was in the Gold Pan in the 1940s. At that time the Gold Pan was a city-owned bar as well. In the mid 1960s the city constructed the store at the existing location, moved the liquor sales there and then shortly thereafter sold the Gold Pan bar to a private party. Lormer “Sandy” and Mary Sandland owned the bar for many years. Bood O’Connell ran the liquor store.  

The liquor license has always been owned/controlled by the city with bar owners and off-sale parties as well, operating under an agreement with the city.  

“Today was an historical occasion,” said Rex Harris, community development director.  “It is the first time in at least the 60+ years I can remember, that the city won’t be in the business.  It has always provided a respectable return to the City and the revenue will be missed.  The loss of jobs, although not significant, is sad as well.” 

“Iâ��think they are making a very big mistake,” liquor store employee Dana Krosch said.â��“Iâ��live one mile out of town and couldn’t even vote to save my own job.” Krosch was a part-time employee at the store, usually working 30-35 hours. She is the only employee who will lose her job, as store manager Tim Wollaston will go to work for the city parks department full time, and the other store employee, Kim Conwell, will work for the city, cleaning public buildings and doing adminstrative assistant work. 

Krosch described her feelings as she stocked the shelves after a brisk last night of business, saying she didn’t have another job lined up because it was never clear when the store would close. She also said the council should have given more consideration to its customers who lived outside city limits. 

“We get a lot of rural customers, and they are very upset,”â��she said. The last thing purchased at the liquor store was a bag of ice. 

As far as the water treatment plant next to the building, the council agreed it would be best to replat the well to the west and the treatment plant to the east, allowing the most land possible to be put up for auction. The council also voted to replat the entire land the store sits on. No infrastructure under the plant will be moved.

In other news from the July 6 meeting, the council:

• Swore in new council members Jim Hattervig, Gary Lipp and Corbin Herman. The council also said farewell to outgoing council members Patty Ressler, Terry Reetz and Steve Pischke.

“It takes time and dedication to be a council person,”â��Stickney said. “It’s a duty they assume that sometimes is not a pleasant one. Thank you for your hard work on the council.”

Starr was elected the council’s new president, while Lipp was elected vice-president.

• Heard from public works director Bob Morrison, who said it may be stating the obvious, but there have been a lot of people in Custer. He said city water use is up quite a bit over last year’s totals for this time in July, and the city is using 400,000 gallons of water a day, which he said is “way high” for this time of year. However, because of the constant rain, he said the wells are doing fine.

• Approved the street closure on 6th Street, between Crook Street and the alley to the south to allow the Custer Volunteer Fire Department to hold its annual Firefighter’s Ball July 23-24 during Gold Discovery Days. Friday night will be family night, with no alcohol allowed. The council also approved a brown bag license for alcohol Saturday night.

• Approved the closure of the street between 27 N. 6th Street and 47 N. 6th Street to be closed for a block party Aug. 19 from 3-6 p.m.

• Approved renewing Beesley’s contract for another year at a cost of an $800 per month retainer, which guarantees his attendance at two meetings per month, along with two hours of free work outside of the meeting. Each additional hour of work is charged at $100 an hour.