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Stacy council talks growth |
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By Anne Thom
Stacy resident Mark Springsted spoke during the council’s public comment period on March 11. He said the solution to the city’s problems is to bring in more business. “Nobody has pushed to bring in a ‘big type’ thing,” he said. Springsted had in mind the new Tesoro Stop at the County 17 exit and suggested a truck stop would be just the ticket or a grocery store.
Mayor John Daher responded that the Stacy Trail interchange, as anyone who has used it can attest, was not built for heavy truck traffic. The desire to replace the interchange has been brought up for many years and the fact is the North Branch interchange will be replaced first, “and that is still a few years away,” Daher said.
Springsted continued brainstorming road improvements. “We need a stoplight on both sides of the bridge,” he said. He was told the council had already explored that within the last two years, only to be advised by the county and MnDOT that traffic lights cost in the neighborhood of $500,000.
His next suggestion to the council is to inventory all of the vacant real estate in the city and start marketing.
Daher explained Stacy has an Economic Development Authority (EDA) and the EDA Web site lists available business properties as the Web site was built around marketing the Stacy Ponds Business Park. Stacy also has SPBP property marketed through the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) called MNPRO.
Springsted said he felt Stacy was being squeezed out of existence by both North Branch and Wyoming and said both of those cities are expanding. “If we don’t get on the stick we’re going to be pushed off into the sticks” he predicted. Daher said it was his wish to have the city expand it’s existing businesses and bring in new businesses. He said 75 percent of Chisago County residents work outside of the county. Daher said he would like to see that figure decrease to 50 percent so residents are earning and spending their money in Chisago County.
Springsted’s allotted time was running out when he moved on to the liquor store and bar saying they need to begin making money or they are going be White Elephants. Springsted said he has observed that the bar is busy all weekend and there is no reason it’s not making money. Then he said, “Someone is padding the books; someone is taking money and not being seen.”
Mayor Daher responded. “Unless someone can bring the council proof, I’m tired of hearing that accusation” he said.
End of public comment.
The Liquor Operations team doesn’t appear theatrically inclined, but each time they sit down at the council table drama erupts. The news this night was that both the Stacy Bar and Grill and Stacy Wine and Spirits lost money in February. City Liquor Operations accountant Amy Joslin advised the council the off-sale had lost $2940.54 and the on-sale had lost $2893.03.
January and February are historically poor months for retail sales, so the council seemed unconcerned about a dip in the revenue from the off-sale. Stacy Wine and Spirits manager Brian Hachey and Joslin attributed most of the loss not to poor sales but to receipt of two late invoices. Councilor Mel Aslakson, who is a CPA, suggested the invoice payments could be backdated to the proper month the money was owed and the council agreed Joslin could proceed. This will improve the bottom line for the off-sale operations. Hachey said sales in February fell short as he had expected, but gross sales figures were encouraging, continuing to show an increase over the previous year. Hachey said he is looking now at increasing prices on some items, namely beer. “I’ve been holding price on beer based on competition,” Hachey said. He told the council he has done weekly surveys of competitors to insure Stacy’s pricing does compete.
“Sales are good, business is good, customers are happy” Hachey summarized.
Councilor Bud Wilson could not be made happy though and he made a motion, as he had done at previous council meetings, to cut staff at the off-sale down to one person between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and two staff from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Daher looked at Wilson and said he thought the Liquor Operations Committee was looking at this. “I’m getting tired of these motions that come up over and over until someone gets their way,” he said. Aslakson pointed out the Liquor Operations Committee is discussing staffing and could work on this at its next meeting. Hachey invited the council to stop by Stacy Wine and Spirits and “see what we do all day” in order to address their concerns.
As Councilor Tony Olivolo browsed his reports, he asked for separate bank accounts for the on- and off-sale and then made a motion that two accounts be established. Mayor Daher reminded the council that Joslin had previously recommended against this. Councilor Wilson said “Nancy Bode recommended it.”
Bode is assistant legal counsel in the state auditor’s office. Wilson has contacted Bode independently of the council for advice on city financial disclosure matters. Regardless of what Wilson and Bode’s opinion might be, Joslin explained she had a very good reason for separate accounts at this time. “It will overdraft,” Joslin said referring to a separate account for the bar. She said it could be done, but the accounts would have to be monitored “daily.” The bar has consistently lost money according to all of Joslin’s documents and she said separate bank accounts would not improve the underlying situation.
Aslakson took a moment to review the payables and receivables and said, “If I read you (Joslin) right, you will run out of funds before all the bills are paid.” Joslin nodded. Daher called the council back to the motion on the table and he, Councilor Barbara Avalos and Aslakson voted no while Olivolo and Wilson voted yes and the motion to establish separate bank accounts for the on- and off-sale operations failed.
This prompted an outburst from Wilson directed at Aslakson similar to that voiced at the Feb. 29 meeting. Aslakson filed the balance sheets and looked at City Attorney Peter Grundhoefer who, moving on, was suggesting that City Clerk Sharon Payne be the party authorized to obtain online bank statements if there was resistance to Joslin having this access on the part of some council members. Daher agreed.
Stacy Bar and Grill manager Paul Rootkie was waiting for his turn. Bar sales, Joslin said were “fairly.., better” this month. There was an increase in beer, wine, liquor and food sales in February over January.
Daher asked that Joslin and Rootkie begin working to produce “an honest assessment of whether or not that bar can become profitable this year.” There was one more thing Daher wanted Joslin present for. The Mayor told his colleagues after “multiple occasions of hearing of theft (at the bar) will the council step up and authorize an accounting of the books?” Daher turned to Aslakson and asked how much this might cost. Aslakson said an auditor would have to be hired to do this. Daher continued then saying “We’ll either find out for sure it’s (theft) is happening or we’ll put it to rest.”
The council then authorized a bonus payment to Joslin of $1190 as compensation for the extra hours she had invested in converting the liquor operations accounting to the Banyon Software package from Quick Books.
Rootkie has managed to pare the budget for entertainment as time itself has worked through contracts with bands that were entered into under previous management. The bar will be advertising in Post Review. He said this would save approximately $540 in advertising costs annually.
Rootkie asked the council to revisit the decision to ban younger children in the bar with parents beginning at 8 p.m. that the council had approved a few weeks ago. Wilson also said, “I thought the curfew was kids coming in there alone.”
Rootkie said there had been a few issues with the new policy and suggested a revision to 9 p.m. because of daylight saving time. Wilson exploded that the only issue was “lack of communication between manager and employees.”
Wilson thought once the new hockey arena is completed, there will be an increase in the number of families who come into the bar to eat lunch or dinner. The mayor, the council and the manager all agreed they want to avoid situations involving underage consumption of alcohol. Daher asked that the issue be referred back to the Liquor Committee.
Councilor Wilson also demanded to know why Rootkie had “fired” Brian Koecher. Koecher had been hired by previous bar manager Kathy Stevens to operate the Texas Hold ‘Em games. Wilson told Rootkie he didn’t have the authority to terminate an employee. Rootkie in turn told Wilson he didn’t terminate Koecher. He (Koecher) was asked to take a pay cut as a cost saving measure. The bar manager reminded the councilor he has been told to cut costs. Rootkie further said, if he is not going to be allowed run the bar, he needed to know right now if he was fired.
Wilson said that that the bar manager is responsible for hiring staff, but only the council has the authority to fire an employee. Daher said Koecher is a contractor, not an employee and also said he thought Rootkie had been put in charge of implementing cost saving measure and with another staff person taking over the Texas Hold ‘Em games, that was a savings of $8000 annually, the amount of Koecher’s contract and bonuses. Rootkie explained to the council members who were choosing to listen at this time that further, Koecher was being paid regardless of if he was there or not. Wilson then accused Rootkie of being “heavy handed” in taking over as manager and accused him of trying to save a buck. Aslakson asked for someone to explain what was going on. Rootkie said that in addition to a flat rate paid to the person running the poker game, the contract called for a payment of $1 a head to Koecher, so whether he was there or not, Koecher was collecting a fee over and above the contract. “Anywhere else I’ve been, the person was paid a flat rate to run the card game” Rootkie said. He said Koecher had not been fired, he had been spoken to the week before to try to work out a different fee schedule because the current cost was not justifiable. Rootkie said Koecher had been paid $432 in January and $400 in February and in that case he would like to apply for the job. Wilson shouted back, “The main thing is you didn’t have your thumb on it!”
Wilson also accused Rootkie of causing a loss of the poker table customer base saying he had created “bad feelings” among the patrons in terminating Koecher. Daher was done with this angle and said, “It was a cost saving measure and that was it,” apparently satisfied with the bar manager’s explanation.
Brian Koecher was seated in the audience asked if he could address the council. He explained he had been collecting his fees and had not been present for the poker games over the last couple of months because due to a staffing shortage at his day job. He said the situation had been resolved and he would return to his normal shift this month. Wilson made a motion to rehire Koecher and the motion passed.
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