This November’s election was already shaping up to be a momentous one. Now there’s one more reason to cast your ballot. Allen County voters will have a say in loosening the county’s liquor laws.
Commissioners agreed Tuesday to put a resolution on November’s general election ballot that would eliminate a current restriction on entertainment establishments requiring them to obtain at least 30% of their profits from food.
Commissioner Bruce Symes referred to the resolution as “an economic development opportunity,” and while Symes said he heard concerns about opening up a bar in the middle of a pandemic, “these businesses won’t open immediately.”
Paul Cloutier from A Bolder Humboldt attended the meeting and informed commissioners that, if for some reason they declined to support adding the question to the ballot, his organization had enough petition signatures to do so regardless.
Kansas has long had some of the nation’s most restrictive regulations on alcohol. Public on-premise liquor sales were prohibited from 1881 to 1987, when the 30% rule was instated.
Five of nine counties in southeast Kansas (including Bourbon and Woodson) have already overturned the rule. Statewide, however, Allen County is more the norm than the exception. Only 35 of 105 counties have no food sales requirement. 67 counties still have the 30% policy in place, and three counties—Haskell, Stanton and Wallace—ban liquor by the drink entirely.
Among other initiatives, A Bolder Humboldt has already advanced plans to develop a bar in a building on Humboldt’s downtown square. Whether the liquor law stands could significantly increase the costs of the project’s operation and construction.
COMMISSIONERS also heard from Rodney Burns, a Chanute accountant who performs audits for the county, who informed the trio they need to cut $752,000 from the 2021 proposed budget—or come up with additional revenue—in order to comply with a Kansas tax lid statute.
Kansas state law restricts the taxes counties and cities can levy on their residents using a formula based on last year’s taxes and then adjusted for inflation.
Commissioner Bill King requested the group take some time to look over the proposed budget and meet again next week to discuss their options. While some funds may roll over from 2020, much of the headache seems to come from a reduced evaluation of oil and gas supplies in the county and the devaluation of state utilities like the Enbridge pipeline.
Terry Call shared with commissioners the latest progress on the new ambulance station in Moran, saying crews moved into the station on Monday. Once all the finishing touches are completed, including what Call detailed as some finicky plumbing, commissioners plan to have an inauguration for the stations in Humboldt and Moran.
Call also noted that, unbeknownst to them, a county ambulance crew recently transported a COVID-19 positive patient to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute. The crew members all were equipped with personal protective equipment, but not the sufficient amount for a positive COVID-19 case. One of the crew members has self-isolated in the old ambulance station in Moran until test results come back.
COUNTY CLERK Sherrie Riebel informed commissioners she’s received several calls from volunteers asking when Senior Center, Inc., located on North State St. in Iola, will open back up. Taking into account the cramped interior—even moreso now that the center accepts donations without being able to sell anything—commissioners declined to offer a timeline. Bruce Symes volunteered to approach the group to suggest some alternative locations for the center.
Due to a request from the audience to revisit their compliance with Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order mandating masks in public spaces, county commissioners agreed by consensus to continue, as Symes said, “aligning ourselves with our public health department and subscribing to the executive order.” Commissioner Jerry Daniels was the lone opposing vote, citing specific language used in the executive order and a lack of ability to enforce it.
Bill King, who earlier in the meeting shared that he maintains regular communication with Rebecca Johnson, director of the Southeast Kansas Multi-County Health Department, described his stance in simple terms. “We just need to be patient. None of us like this,” he remarked. “We’re just trying to be cautious.”
