Casper City Council won’t award bar and grill license until June, hoping quality business plans emerge from longer application window
CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council on Tuesday discussed what it wants to do with a bar and grill liquor license that will become available April 1 due to the Spotlight Lounge (Grace Partners, LP) not seeking to renew its control of the license for another year.
City Manager Carter Napier said that the city council has flexibility in terms of how it wants to go about awarding the license to another business once the bar and grill license becomes available. It will be the only available bar and grill license as of April 1.
Napier said that it is likely that the city will see interest from multiple businesses and he asked that the council provide feedback on conditions and timelines it wants to see in the process of issuing the bar and grill license.
Vice Mayor Steve Freel said that he thinks the council has previously seen people apply for liquor licenses without having a fully developed vision for how they want to use it. He said he thinks that has resulted in some licenses being parked without being put to use.
In hopes of eliciting more fully developed business plans, Freel suggested the city council refrain from awarding the bar and grill license immediately. Rather than awarding the license to another business in April, he suggested that giving businesses more time to apply may result in more thoroughly prepared business plans.
Council member Bruce Knell and Mayor Ray Pacheco expressed agreement with Freel’s proposal to slow down the process of issuing the license in order to solicit more quality business plans. Pacheco asked for clarification as to whether there are restrictions on how long or short the city council must establish an application window.
Deputy City Attorney Wallace Trembath said the council could set as long or as short of an application window as it sees fit.
Knell said that with summer being an important season for liquor establishments to attract customers, he recommended the council award the bar and grill license by June 1. He added that the city council could then accept applications through the end of April and use the month of May to deliberate and come to a decision.
The city council agreed to this recommended timeline. City staff will prepare application information based on the council’s discussion Tuesday.
Bar and grill liquor licenses cost $10,500 for the first year and cost $3,000 for renewal.