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MENTONE – Mentone Town Council addressed a room full of residents Wednesday about an enabling ordinance the council passed in November.
Town attorney Austin Rovenstine said he was asked to clarify an enabling ordinance.
Rovenstine said generally speaking, under Indiana law, a town council is given no say in who is granted a liquor license, as “that is a power that is reserved for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.” There is one exception for towns that have less than 5,000 people.
“A small town like that basically has an on-or-off switch. They can enact an enabling ordinance that says, ‘We are OK with the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission issuing liquor licenses within our town limits.’ Or they can decline to enact an ordinance, in which case no new liquor licenses will be issued,” Rovenstine said, adding the ordinance has to be attached to a liquor license application.
If the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission doesn’t get the enabling ordinance, they won’t approve the new liquor license. Existing liquor licenses that were grandfathered in do not require enabling ordinances.
An enabling ordinance has to be general and can not reference any specific business. It can have no restrictions or strings attached to the ordinance.
“It is just the town saying to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, ‘We are OK with you issuing licenses in accordance with your regulations’ ...,” Rovenstine said.
He said he put together an enabling ordinance after he was told a business was inquiring about a liquor license. He looked through Mentone’s ordinance book and couldn’t find an enabling ordinance, so he put one together. The ordinance was passed in November and went into effect immediately upon its adoption, which is allowed when there are no penalties attached and the vote is unanimous.
Any action with any pending liquor licenses will be with the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, with the recommendation from the Kosciusko County Alcohol and Tobacco Commission first. The state gives the final approval.
Rovenstine said once the town council enacts an enabling ordinance, it has to stay in effect for two years and six months and can’t be undone.
Tim Carter asked if the enabling ordinance was in regards to a liquor license application from Jesse Bubb for the Pug Pub, 116 W. Harrison St. Jesse did appear before the council on behalf of the Pug Pub for the enabling ordinance.
Carter also asked if anyone was aware of La Bahia Mexican Restaurant trying to get a liquor license and were having issues with missing paperwork. He had concerns La Bahia not having a liquor license would effect their business. Carter said if the state accepts the application for the Pug Pub, they will not accept the application for La Bahia due to the amount of licenses available.
Jesse said he didn’t steal any licenses from anyone and even offered to allow La Bahia to use their license if approved.
Council President Jill Gross said who is and isn’t allowed a liquor license is beyond the council’s control. La Bahia would have needed an enabling ordinance as well if they had gotten far enough.
Carter asked how the number of liquor licenses available was determined. No one had been able to answer him. Rovenstine said the council wouldn’t be able to answer that question for him either. Gross said that’s determined by the state and regulations have changed over the years.
Carter also said the community should be able to know what businesses are coming into town because “we’ve heard everything,” including there’s going to be a full bar at the Pug Pub, the business is going to be open until 3 a.m. and the business is going to bus people into town. Some of the information Carter has heard about the business is from rumors and from meetings with the owners. He said he wanted to know what the business plan was.
Jaron Bubb, of the Pug Pub LLC, did speak on what the business will be. He said he wanted a bar that’s fun “for the younger crowd,” mainly people in their 20s and 30s. Jesse said they wanted to get people from other towns to come into Mentone. Jesse said he would rather bus people in rather than having people drive drunk.
Jaron said the Pug Pub will be a regular bar with food, drinks and fun things for people of all ages to do. He said he wants a fun establishment, a safe environment and good management. He thinks it will be good for the community.
Carter said the kind of business that is being created is what the community needed to know, adding he thought it may put an extra load on the Mentone Police Department. Town Marshal Keaton Schopf said they’re there to make sure everyone’s safe, “that’s all we care about.”
Jaron said he wanted to cater to the second- and third-shift people, so he figured why not stay open late and allow those people to come in and eat.
Gross said she didn’t know if the council had any say how local businesses are run. Carter said he thinks that’s what the town needs to hear and possibly what kind of crowd it may bring in.
Councilwoman Shelly Krueger shared thoughts of it being good to fill up empty businesses as the Pug Pub will be in the old bank building and it’s been empty for years.
Gross said she wants all businesses in town to do well.
