8/14/13 Liquor permit for Millersburg business prompts strong response

                        
SUMMARY: Business owner speaks out against permit, gets in argument Tempers flared over a liquor permit at the Aug. 12 meeting of Millersburg Village Council. Council voted 4 to 2 to approve a carry-out beer and wine permit requested by Campbell Oil for its new Bellstores location on South Washington Street. Councilmembers Brent Hofstetter and Devon Polen voted against the license. Prior to the vote, village resident Andrea Kellogg likened denying the permit to an attack on individual liberties and Mac’s Drive Thru owner Robert Shedron said the liquor permit will hurt his business. An argument between Campbell Oil and Shedron started in the village office hallway, and police chief Tom Vaughn and an out-of-uniform officer attending the meeting had to separate the two. Council previously sought comment on the liquor permit from businesses holding similar permits. Council expressed concern that the market could become saturated, affecting sales for existing businesses. There are currently 14 liquor permits in the village, not including the new permit. A written reply from Rodhe’s IGA stating that they are okay with the permit was provided at the meeting. Speaking at the Monday council meeting, Campbell Oil vice president Bob Engel said Campbell Oil prefers to have liquor sales at all its stores. The store would be at a “competitive disadvantage” without the permit, Engel said. When Shedron said the Bellstores permit will hurt his business, Engel said he was “sorry you feel that way”. “I think you’re sorry putting it in,” Shedron responded. “You’re taking business away from me, Rodhe’s, everyone else.” Campbell Oil and Shedron left prior to the end of the meeting. Angry words were exchanged in the hallway. Kellogg personally addressed Hofstetter for his comments on the permit at a previous meeting of council. Hofstetter spoke against the permit, stating he feels it will hurt local businesses and said he would not vote to support it. Kellogg said she was “disgusted” by Hofstetter’s stance on the issue. She said that objecting to the permit was discriminatory, and said that if council can object to one type of business, they can object to any others wishing to locate in town. “I was disgusted by the response, I feel sorry for (Campbell Oil),” Kellogg said. “This, to me, is not friendly” and will scare other businesses away from the village, Kellogg said. Hofstetter responded by saying he felt Kellogg’s comparisons were “apples to oranges”. Hofstetter said the state feels that liquor permits should be controlled, while other businesses are not. Attorney Nate Gordon, representing Campbell Oil, said he has never seen a council oppose a liquor license such as the one requested for the Bellstores location. He said the state allows for so many licenses per area based on population, and Millersburg has more than the quota amount. To get the licenses approved beyond the quota amount, council must first endorse it, Gordon said. Gordon said about 15 percent of store revenues are expected to come from alcohol sales. Without it, “it will affect that store’s ability to survive”, Gordon said. Polen quoted a letter from Holmes County Health Commissioner Dr. D.J. McFadden that cited surveys showing an increase in alcohol-related problems in area s with a high saturation of liquor permits.


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