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Council to review alcohol ordinances

The Minot City Council has decided to take another look at its alcohol licensing ordinance.

The council voted Monday to appoint a committee to review and make recommendations on ordinance changes.

The city has studied and amended its liquor ordinances in the recent past. The conversation around another review came after encountering what some council members considered to be roadblocks for some license holders in the regulations.

Earlier this year, a downtown bar had to cancel an event after the city ruled it was a sexual performance not permitted under the alcohol ordinance. Another downtown license holder had to scramble to accommodate scheduled events because his event-centered business model didn’t meet the ordinance’s definition of a licensed premises. Modifications to the licensed premise design were necessary to come into compliance.

The proposed committee would include, at a minimum, the mayor, a council member, a member of the public, two alcohol license holders. The city manager, city attorney and police chief would serve in an advisory capacity.

Anyone interested in serving on the committee can apply through the city’s website.

The council debated hiring a legal consultant to conduct an ordinance review, but a consultant was estimated to cost about $50,000 for a year.

In other action, the council selected Stantec Consulting Services as lead consultant on a housing needs and market analysis study. The bid of $144,824 was below the $150,000 budgeted by the city. Stantec proposes spending about eight months on the study, completing it just ahead of the 2024 construction season. The city’s last housing study was more than six years ago and focused on flood-impacted properties.

The council awarded a contract for transporting recyclables to 1 Call Septic Service. Estimating 800 tons of recyclables this year, the cost would be about $120,000.

The city expects to start curbside recycling in July. Collections would be stored at the transfer station at the landfill and then hauled by 1Call Septic Service on city-owned trailers to a processing facility in Minneapolis.

The council also voted to approve a five-year contract extension for City Manager Harold Stewart, to run through December 2028. His current three-year contract would end this December. He began employment with the city in December 2020.

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