Meade County admonishes late liquor license renewal applicants

Liquor license holders who do not get their renewal applications in by the beginning of November will risk losing their license completely, members of the Meade County Commission said Tuesday. 

The commission expressed frustration about late renewal applications at their Nov. 26 meeting. Commissioners had scheduled a public hearing for liquor license renewals at their Nov. 12 meeting, and they continued that hearing to the Nov. 26 meeting because Reno’s Casino of Black Hawk, Shooting Star of Black Hawk, Kickstand of Sturgis, and Dixie Feeds of Vale had not yet submitted their applications. 

On Tuesday the commission approved renewals for Shooting Star, Reno’s Casino, and Kickstand, 4-1. Commissioner Doreen Allison Creed was the dissenting vote. 

“I’m voting no and the reason is that every year since I’ve been on this commission, there are some people who habitually don’t get liquor license applications in on time,” Creed said. “Liquor licenses are extremely valuable. I’m tired of people who don’t follow the rules when we’re dealing with a $500,000 deal.” 

Dixie Feed of Vale, did not submit its renewal application and did not have a representative to answer questions at the hearing. The commission struggled with whether to continue the public hearing to their next meeting, Dec. 10, or to let the license lapse. 

Deputy States Attorney Ken Chleborad told the commission that if the license lapses, it will be gone forever. Meade County has 14 liquor licenses, but population changes in the county due to city incorporations such as Summerset, mean that there should only be 12 licenses for the county. Therefore, Chleborad said if a license lapses, it will not be available again. 

Following discussion, the commission voted to defer a decision about whether to continue the hearing until the end of the meeting. While the commission was in executive session, a representative from Dixie Feeds turned in the application and fees for renewal, and commissioners unanimously agreed to continue the public hearing to Dec. 10. 

But this may be the last time commissioners forgive the missed deadlines, they said. 

“It’s super frustrating for me that we get to this every year,” Commissioner Rich Liggett said. “If we don’t continue the hearing on this license, the applicant actually loses their license. This is a major decision. I understand we have 14 license in the county and the state allows us to have 12, so we’re over sold. So if we don’t continue the hearing, this license just goes away. It is not a negotiable thing at that point. I’m not impressed.” 

Creed agreed, saying the missed deadline is the reason she voted against the other renewals on the Nov. 26 agenda. 

 “Their haphazard way of dealing with this asset is beyond me,” she said.