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December 11, 2009

Council tie vote on liquor license renewal

By Michael Schaffer - Managing editor

The Centerville City Council voted 2-2 Monday night on the liquor license renewal request made by Gordie L. Long, the owner of Gordie's Bar and Grill.

Voting to approve the renewal but with "concerns and reservations" were Kris Koestner and Rob Lind. Voting to not approve the renewal were Bill McAfee and Wallace "Moe" Carter.

Because of the tie vote, the liquor license renewal request failed. However, Gordie's is still allowed to serve alcohol, City Clerk Kris May said, because of what she called a "timely file."

What the council members who voted against the renewal want are assurances from the city’s three bars that they will cooperate with the police department regarding several issues, May said. In the meantime, May, city attorney Deb George and Police Chief Tom Demry are to talk with officials in Des Moines as to what steps the city can take in regards to Gordie’s.

Now Long has an additional government entity after her liquor license. The first being the state.

The administrator for the Alcoholic Beverages Division for the state of Iowa, Lynn Walding, ruled in September to uphold a law judge's decision to suspend Long's liquor license for 30 days for allegedly violating the Smokefree Air Act on several occasions. The 30-day suspension was scheduled to begin Nov. 9 and end Dec. 9.

Following Walding's final order, Long petitioned district court for judicial review of the Alcoholic Beverages Division order suspending her liquor license for 30 days and was granted a stay. The stay, signed by Judge Daniel P. Wilson, said Long had "sufficient likelihood" of success in its appeal of the ABD administrator's final order on at least one of the grounds of appeal, jurisdiction of the administrator and constitutional issues, to warrant a stay.

The ABD administrator's final order is suspended until a hearing is held by the district court on the merits of Long's petition for judicial review of agency action. As of Thursday afternoon, no time or date had been set for that hearing.

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This week the Iowegian wants readers to think about the recent decision by the Centerville Municipal Waterworks Board of Directors to increase the fee for late payment of water bills. In a story published in Wednesday's Ad Express, board members announced a 10 percent late fee after two days late, a $50 red tag fee for accounts unpaid after seven days late and a $25 shut off fee, water service terminated after two weeks late. The board said the decision to increase the fees associated with late payment is to encourage customers to pay their bills on time. So, the question this week is, "Are these fees too much to ask for?"

A. Yes, they are.
B. No, they are not.
C. I'm not affected so I don't care.
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