Winchester agrees to approve special one-day liquor license

By Editor | August 13, 2024 |

By Carmen Ensinger

At the Aug. 7 Winchester City Council Meeting, the council approved to create a one-day special liquor license for special events.

Mayor Rex McEntire read a letter from the applicant, Callie Sellars Reichert, explaining what she wanted to do with the building at the Aug. 7 council meeting.

“On May 1, I purchased the Sentry Hardware building on the west side of the Winchester Square from Gary Dorsey,” Reichert said. “Next week I plan to begin renovating the building. Our goal is to create a beautiful addition to the Winchester square. We plan to create a business that will be at a meeting and banquet facility. I would like to have a beautiful place people can host meetings, showers, graduations and small wedding receptions and anniversaries.”

Reichert said she plans to hold other events as well.

“The other goal I have is to have special events that I plan to host,” she said. “These will include specialty dinners, with a theme and luncheons. I would love to have mystery dinner theater dinners and galas.”

Reichert said it won’t be a bar or a restaurant open to the public every day.

“I will need a liquor license to serve a limited menu of alcoholic beverages,” she said. “There will not be a restaurant or bar every day at this site. The bar will not be open to the public; just open to my guests at the events. We are hoping this will bring business to Winchester. We do not want to compete or take business away from businesses already established.”

City Treasurer Wanda Cody informed the council that they needed to do something with the TIF money, which is in an account which isn’t earning hardly any interest at the moment.

“Right now, you are earning only .05 percent interest on the TIF money, which isn’t good at all,” Cody said. “You could do a money market for part of it if you want and a Certificate of Deposit for the rest of it.”

The city currently has $600,000 in its TIF fund. Cody said a money market account is paying 2.3 percent interest at the moment. Cody was instructed to look into getting the money into a higher interest bearing account.

Cody also informed the council that the last payment on the new city hall will be coming due on Sept. 13 in the amount of $26,198.36.

McIntire asked if the city could use some of the TIF funds to pay off the loan. City Attorney John Paul Coonrod said he doubted it.

“You can use TIF funds for infrastructure, but it has to benefit commerce,” Coonrod said. “I don’t know that the city hall would qualify for that, but I will check.”

The council ended up paying the $26,198.36 out of the General Fund.

Public Works Director John Simmons informed the council that a pump at the sewer plant needed replaced. The current pump is around 20 years old.

“We can get this pump repaired at a cost of $13,124 or get a brand new one for $16,023.69,” Simmons said. “The new one comes with a five-year warranty and the repaired one comes with no warranty at all. I suggest we buy the new one.”

The council agreed to purchase the new one at a cost of $16,023.69.

Simmons said a culvert pipe needs to be replaced on West Cross St.

“The current pipe is rusted out causing erosion on each side,” Simmons said. “It is something our guys can do.”

Simmons said he plans on using a polymer coated steel pipe 36 inches in diameter and 36 feet long. At 98.55 per foot, total cost of the project would be $3,547.80.

There is a tree on North Main on the boulevard which is leaning way out over into the street between Reggie Coons and Fred Liner.

“I’m afraid it is going to become a big hazard if it is not taken out,” Simmons said. “I know sometimes in the past we have approached the owner about going in half with us on the cost of removing it, but the problem is we don’t know whose tree it is – it is right on the property line. I recommend we just go ahead and take it out.”

Simmons said he got a bid from Powell Tree Service in the amount of $700, which was very cheap. He said he would get a second bid if the council requested it, but he doubts it would be any cheaper than $700.

The bearings went out on the grinder at the sewer plant and Simmons said he hoped that it can be repaired rather than having to purchase a new one.

“It started making a loud noise and we noticed some bearings out on it,” Simmons said. “We had a company come up and we had to pull it up out of there. Right now, it is in St. Louis and they are looking at it to determine if it can be fixed or if we will have to buy a new one.”

If the pump can be fixed, it will cost probably $60-$70,000. To replace it will cost between $150-$160,000.

“The problem is, when I get a quote back, we almost need to act on it and get it back,” Simmons said.

McIntire said he plans to draft a letter to include in next month’s utility bills explaining why he would like some help to get the needed funds to purchase the Lincoln statue.

“A lot of people still don’t understand the importance of Lincoln here in Winchester,” McIntire said. “This statue would commemorate the fact that Lincoln made a very important speech right here in Winchester – a speech that put Winchester on the map.”

McIntire said it would also bring business to town.

“We take it for granted because we all grew up here, but people from all over the country rank Lincoln as the No. 1 rated president,” he said. “It would bring people to town and help our businesses.”

McIntire said he found a statue for around $12,000. So far they have around $9,000 saved up from raffles and donations.

“I want to see if people will donate some money to help out,” McIntire said. “I know now is a bad time because everyone is in a bind, but I think it would be a worthwhile thing.”

Winchester customers will see a slight increase in their gas bills in the fall after the company that the city buys gas through has decided to raise their fee by two cents per dekatherm.

“Ron Ragan, with Utility Gas Management, has been telling me that since we have been with them, they have held their fee at seven cents per dekatherm,” McIntire said. “He said they will be raising it to nine cents per dekatherm. I appreciate some of the things he has done helping us with hedging to keep us from getting burned. I’m planning on signing the agreement, but I would like your blessing on it.”

Utility Gas Management purchases the gas off the market, who then sells it to the city and the city then sells it to their customers.

In an effort to discourage solicitors within the city, the council passed an amendment to their ordinance significantly raising the fee it costs to obtain a license to solicit.

Currently, the fee for a one-day solicitor’s license is $20. The amendment now requires the applicant to pay $500 as an initial, nonrefundable application fee.

If the application is approved, any licensed solicitor shall pay an additional daily fee in the amount of $100 prior to engaging in any act of solicitation.