Commission to seek input on minimum food sales rule to serve alcohol

Charlene Sims, Journal staff
6 days ago
4 min read

Owners of the Blue Dog Wine Co.'s Coyote Tasting Room in Mound City are among those establishments asking to loosen Linn County's requirement that at least 30% sales of sales be food items in order to serve alcoholic drinks. (Blue Dog Wine Co.)

By Charlene Sims

MOUND CITY – The Linn County Commissioners discussed the issue or removing the requirement that businesses that serve liquor by the drink have to have 30% of their sales from food items on Monday, Dec. 8. According to Commissioners Alison Hamilton and Jason Hightower and the county counselor Jacklyn Paletta, the issue had been brought up by several different businesses in Linn County.

The businesses were asking about putting the issue on a ballot to see if the regulation could be changed in Linn County. Commissioners discussed a citizen and business inquiry about removing the existing 30% food-sales requirement for drinking-establishment license and whether to place that change on a future ballot.

The Kansas Legislature made an amendment to the constitution in 1986 for counties to opt into that would allow businesses to sell liquor by the drink if 30% of their sales were from food. But Linn County remained a “dry” county until 2004 when voters approved the sale of “alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30 percent food sales requirement.”

Since that issue was approved by a vote, another will have to change the requirement.

In 2023, Franklin County voters approved dropping the 30% food requirement for establishments serving liquor by the drink by a 74% vote. (KOFO, “Thirty Percent Rule Ousted,” Nov. 8, 2023)

Paletta said she had this put on the agenda to talk about so the commissioners could decide how they wanted to proceed and if they wanted it researched. She said the commissioners might want to talk to business owners or allow the public opportunity to comment.

“How do we start? How do we get it on the ballot? Do we have to have the public forum first? Do the commissioners need to vote first on the direction we want to go?” asked Hamilton.

“But it has to go to a ballot in order to change it, right?” asked Commission Chair Jim Johnson.

Paletta said it did need to be put up for a vote. She said she would be able help the commission with the steps that need to happen and help them with a timeline. She did tell them that it would probably be better to have it on the ballot at a regular election because it would be expensive to hold a special election.

“I think it would be beneficial if we had the people that it is affecting come before us,” Hightower said.

Hamilton agreed. She asked County Clerk Chasity Ware if she would be able to get the names of the businesses that are affected by the regulation.

Hightower suggested sending a letter to all of the businesses that are affected.

Hamilton said she would like to see a letter sent to them so they could come in and make comments.

“Does it matter to you what the public has to say or what those businesses have to say or do you want to determine a direction before you hear from them?” asked Paletta.

Hightower said he thought it would be better to hear from them then form a direction.

Johnson said he would like to find out what neighboring counties have done.

Paletta said she would be happy to contact the neighboring counties.

Hamilton asked Ware to find out what the deadlines were for getting the question on the ballot. Ware said that she could get a letter out to the businesses by the first of the year.

The commission plans to have more discussion on this in January.

In other business, the commissioners:

Learned from Walton that Baskerville Road bridge was open.

Heard from Walton that he still was working with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) on the landfill expansion. He said regulators were working on thge as-builts and would soon begin work on the perimeter berm.

Learned from Walton that the county was waiting for legislation to go through with the broadheaded skink. He said officials are looking at the habitat for that on the rest of the property that the county owns out there by the landfill to see if the landfill can expand going northeast to use the coal pit strip over there. To be able to go further east, the county needs to wait for them to figure out what they are going to do – if they’re going to take that off the endangered species list or they’re going to put different stipulations to keep some of that habitat.

Learned that Walton had been in touch with Carey Spoon, the director at the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission (SEKRPC) and that the county is in good shape with getting all of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds spent by the end of the year.

Went into executive session at Paletta’s request for attorney-client privilege in anticipation of litigation. Included in the closed-door session was Linn County Park Director Sheri Loveland, the three commissioners, Paletta, and Ware.

Went into executive session at Hamilton’s request for five minutes for non-elected personnel evaluations with the three commissioners and Ware.

Moved to have Hightower as the Kansas Association of Counties (KAC) delegate and for bylaws and also as voting delegate for the Kcamp annual 2025 conference.

Postponed a motion on approving the department head raise until next week at Hamilton’s request.

Went into executive session at Johnson’s request for 10 minutes for information security with the three commissioners, Ware and Paletta. That executive session was extended for five minutes.

Went into executive session for 10 minutes at the motion of Johnson for KS-75-4319 (b)(4) for not financial affairs with three commissioners, Paletta and Ware.