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Council tackles Sunday sales

FAIRMONT — On Monday, the Fairmont City Council heard from City Administrator Mike Humpal, who brought forward the topic of Sunday liquor sales at the municipal liquor store, in order to have some open discussion on the issue.

Humpal said he got together with city finance director Paul Hoye and liquor store manager Tom Donnelly, and they came to the conclusion that keeping the store open on Sundays would not be economically profitable or feasible.

“We don’t think it will increase customer traffic, and we’re concerned about if we’ll have people that want to work on Sundays,” Humpal said. “Because of the way we’re set up, we’d have to incentivize Sundays and our concern is if it is worth the effort.”

He went on to say that while he hasn’t heard from anyone directly about the issue, he did bring up the topic to various people, and most were in favor of the store remaining closed on Sundays.

“I think if you follow the age line a little bit, you’ll find that the older the voter or citizen the more they would be inclined to say no,” he said.

Donnelly was present to address the issue, providing the council with his thoughts.

“It really doesn’t make sense because we’re not going to get any extra traffic coming through the door,” he said. “Part-time help is maxed out on hours and it would require the hiring of two additional people, and it’s also difficult to get people to work on Saturday, let alone Sunday. We’d have to sell over 45 cases of beer just to cover the labor costs.”

Mayor Deb Foster asked Donnelly what comments he has heard from customers on the issue, and he replied that about 9 in 10 people are in favor of the store staying closed on Sundays.

Council member Bruce Peters said he has heard the opposite from some people who want the store to be open.

“I don’t think you can say for certain that there won’t be increased revenue,” said Peters, who admitted he did not take into account the cost of incentivizing Sundays.

Council member Ruth Cyphers said she heard from two or three people who think there should be a trial run, and Peters said he has heard the same.

“People in a Christian community aren’t going to come out and tell you that they think the liquor store should be open,” said council member Tom Hawkins. “I just look at it from a business standpoint, and my question is what research has been done to determine there wouldn’t be any additional business?”

Donnelly replied, stating there have been several studies that suggest Sunday sales will not be profitable.

“If I look at it as a business owner, and how do you market a business, is there an opportunity?” he asked. “One person brought up to me that maybe we could cut back the hours on Wednesdays or Mondays to make up the hours.”

Donnelly explained that even cutting back the hours would not prevent having to hire at least another part-time worker.

“Personally I don’t care one way or the other,” Hawkins said. “But I’ve just heard enough feedback from people that I just think that we should give it some more consideration. I’m suggesting let’s not cut it off without figuring out a way to let people give their input.”

Foster urges people in the community who have an opinion on the issue to get in touch with council members, Humpal and Donnelly. As the topic was only under discussion, no action was requested or taken.

In another matter, the council approved a resolution that will provide for payment by the state to the city for the use Lake Avenue and Blue Earth Avenue as a detour route during the upcoming construction work on the I-90 interchange ramps on Highway 15 on the north end of Fairmont. During the ramp closures, a portion of the Interstate traffic will be detoured along said roads, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation will provide a small payment of $5,820 to cover the cost of maintenance and road life consumed.

In other business, the council was addressed by Fairmont resident Charles Lund, who wished to discuss possible repairs for Burton Lane and Perimeter Drive around Friendship Village in Fairmont. Lund wanted to know what knowledge the council has concerning the state of disrepair, and requested that action be taken soon to repair both roads.

“I have some concerns, but I don’t know if the council knows about them,” Lund said. “I’ve been doing some research, and I’ve been talking with the street engineer. If I understood him right, there should be a larger storm sewer there than what is there now.”

“We get everything from State Street East and old Highway 16 south all coming down to Friendship Village and it doesn’t dissipate too fast; it just keeps building up as we keep getting more rain. The damage to that section has been going on for 20 years, and it hasn’t been touched and I’m wondering why.”

“We all know that the storm sewer is undersized and has been for a long time,” Humpal said. “We have a storm water master plan that was done in 1998, and we’re looking at revising that now. We know that some part of that sewer needs to be torn up, and most of it lies in that area that Mr. Lund is talking about.

“It has been a while, but it is a large project and we are in the process of having Bolton & Menk look at it.”

Foster asked City Engineer Troy Nemmers if there is a timeline in which work was expected to be done.

“The work that’s getting down right now should be done in a couple of months, as far as an evaluation,” he replied. “That will tell us what our options are going to be to address the storm water concern and associated costs.”

In other business, the council approved a motion to approve a permit application from the Martin County Preservation Association and Red Rock Center to block off a portion of Elm Street from East Blue Earth Avenue for half a block south from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, May 29, for a Memorial Day Community Picnic.

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