By Anne Thom

The new president of the Stacy Lions Club, Rock Mueller, and past president Jason Palme returned to the Stacy City Council meeting Jan. 24 to press their case for a permit to hold a Lions Club Bike Run this summer. The date for this community fund-raiser is tentatively set for June 3.

The Lions initially asked for a permit to hold their party in the city park while at the Jan. 10 meeting, but the council had concerns with potential juvenile access to alcohol, noise, licensing and insurance.

Last week, City Attorney Peter Grundhoefer was willing to explore how the event might be held. The Lions are excited about the event and would like to continue the tradition for ì20 years or more.î Councilman John Walz said ìIíd rather do this one event and then see what we can do for the future.î

At issue is the logistics of the sale of alcohol from that concession stand which is in the park, carried across the property line to the business park. The Lions have a concession building operating at Doyle Field adjacent to the site. Mueller asked ìWe have to rope off the park?î Palme said ìWhatever we have to do, weíll do but we need to know.î

Stacy Mayor Michael Carlson told them the best thing would be a tent, a beer garden. ìWeíll build a pavilion,î said Palme.

The site will now be within the Stacy Ponds Business Park, Block 2 on the plat, eliminating the problem of trying to make the event happen in a city park. The city told the Lions to pursue a temporary permit, similar to a conditional use permit. Grundhoefer directed the city to modify the application for a conditional use permit as no application form exists for a temporary permit.

Adequate law enforcement will be required under the terms, there needs to be a start and an end date on such a permit and the Lions will have to provide proof of insurance. Grundhoefer said ìEven though you (the Lions Club) are currently covered by dram shop insurance it could be a liability to the city.î He said it i s because the city is actively involved in the business park and would be issuing the permit. ìGet that application going to Sharonî said Grundhoefer, referring to City Clerk Sharon Payne who would have process it. An Interim Temporary Use Permit will be applied for. Before the permit can be issued a public hearing will have to be held.

Because the city will have to publish notification of the hearing, Grundhoefer and Payne told the Lions to get the paperwork and application fee in by Friday, Jan. 26.

Palme, who was anticipating approval of the permit, began talking about how soon the Lions could implement a marketing plan. When the Lions left the meeting, Walz said, ìI think youíre hearing little resistance from us.î The public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16.

The Lions will have to note on the permit how many people are expected, how many police officers will be required for enforcement and crowd control, how many days the event will take place and how liability issues will be covered.

The Lions also requested that the city sponsor the live band with $1,500 from park funds that were contributed by the Stacy Lions.

More money will be going into city coffers as the club pledged to buy the alcohol through the new Stacy Wines and Spirits (municipal liquor store).

Sign of the Times

Stacy Bar manager Kathy Stevens asked the council to get the bar a new sign and to address other completion issues. The council will be meeting with project architect Bruce Paulson to do a final walk through and inspection of the new building. Any further adjustments to the bar can be fine tuned and requested at that time.

There was discussion by the council and a consensus that the current STACY BAR sign is too small. The current sign is smaller than what city ordinance allows. Stevens also wants to update the sign to reflect the new restaurant side of the business by installing a sign that reads STACY BAR AND GRILL.

Councilman Walz wanted that wording and a more dramatic font. In order to highlight the sign better the council also talked about and insisted on better, more decorative lighting for the parking lot.

It was the consensus of the bar manager and council that the lighting that was installed was not the lighting that was ordered. Stevens had also met recently with Stacy Maintenance Supervisor Tom Archibald to plan for the maintenance and upkeep of the new municipal investment.

In other news, the council voted to allow Stacy Wines and Spirits manager Brian Hachey to hire a store clerk and an assistant manager. Human resource consultant David Clark had recently completed job descriptions for the positions. Applications for employment at either the Stacy Bar or Wines and Spirits can be obtained at city hall during office hours.

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