Council OKs liquor for convention

Senior citizens were vocal and defensive Monday night in their opposition to alcohol being served at the Heritage Senior Center.

At issue was a special liquor license requested by a caterer for a state art club convention dinner at the center July 13.

After hearing testimony for and against approving the license, the McCook City Council Monday night voted 3 to 1 to approve the license.

Mayor Dennis Berry and councilmen Marty Conroy and Aaron Kircher voted for the measured, with Councilman Lonnie Anderson casting the nay vote.

Councilmember Collen Grant was absent because of th death of her mother.

The McCook Art Club is hosting the state convention of the Association of Nebraska Art Club in McCook, a three-day event in July that is expected to draw between 125-150 people from across the state, organizers said.

The special liquor license was requested by Matt Sehnert who will cater the dinner.

Seniors opposed to alcohol being served at the center addressed the council and said it would set a precedent that others will follow.

"Seniors have put a lot of money into this building," said Norma Whisler. "They didn't build it for the purpose of alcohol." As seniors put in their time and effort into the building, then they have the right to keep it alcohol and drug free, she said.

"We want to share our building, we just don't want alcohol," she continued.

The Senior Center is owned and operated by the city and was expanded with sales tax money and donations from Senior citizens. Revenue from the center, such as rent, goes into the city general fund and expenses are paid by the general fund.

Other seniors also addressed the council.

"Liquor isn't necessary for our center," Beth Augustyn stated. One of her concerns was that property could be damaged if alcohol was allowed.

Councilman Kircher asked if it would help if city policy could be drafted that would include damaged property would be replaced by organizers of the event. Augustyn asked him why he was so anxious to have alcohol at the center.

"I'm not anxious -- I'm just trying to work with both sides," he answered.

Mayor Berry read a letter signed by 83 seniors that said the senior center was for seniors and they didn't want alcohol served at the facility.

The letter also stated that that there are other facilities available for events like these.

Deb Goodenberger, a co-chair of the conference, said organizers had looked at other venues, such as the Knights of Columbus or the Republican River Valley Event Center, but had a hard time scheduling the event. She added that state dinners she attended in the past were low-key affairs without any incident. This would be a good opportunity to show people across the state what McCook has to offer, she said.

"This is our chance to get people downtown and put our best foot forward," she explained.

Anne Kennedy, McCook Art Guild member, said that when her organization offered to host the event, she had been told by several members from the eastern part of the state, "You're going to have to make this good if you want us to come to McCook."

A transplanted easterner herself, this made her even more determined to prove that McCook could pull it off, she told council members.

She understood the pride seniors take in their building and that the facility would be a excellent example of what McCook has to offer.

This is not an emotional issue but a business issue, said Sehnert.

Although he respects and appreciates the many seniors in town, anytime a local business makes money, the city makes money in the form of taxes.

"We're not asking for favors, but want cooperation from the city," he said asking that the council honor his request as a city taxpayer.

He also pointed out that as the liquor license holder for the event, he would be responsible for alcohol consumption. It was in his best interest to keep things under control, he said, because if anything got out of hand, such as serving an obviously intoxicated person, his license could be revoked along with fines.

Mayor Dennis Berry said although it's clear that seniors have pride in their building, it is still a public building and belongs to the city.

Councilman Conroy noted that he worked with three different directors as Public Works Director during the expansion of the Senior Center and "put as much as blood, sweat and tears into it as anybody." But he sees the upcoming convention as a positive step for the city.

"Here's our chance to say, come see what we've got," he reasoned.

Before this item, the council considered another related item that would clarify if and when consumption of alcohol should be allowed on city property.

Staff had requested direction from the council as alcohol is allowed in some instances -- such as the McCook Chamber of Commerce banquet in January at Memorial Auditorium and the upcoming beer garden downtown scheduled for the "Party on the Bricks" celebration in May.

Some kind of policy is needed, agreed Councilman Kircher. "City property is city property; we can't have a double standard and say yes to some and no to others," he said.

Council members decided unanimously to postpone setting any policy until the next council meeting.