Faster service

City looks to speed up process for bartenders to be able to get licensed

The city of Medford wants to speed up the process between when bartenders apply for licenses and when they can start working.

At Monday’s city council committee of the whole meeting, aldermen gave preliminary approval to an ordinance which would delegate power to city clerk Ashley Lemke or her designee to approve routine operator licenses and temporary permits for events.

Currently, the license applications go through the meeting cycle with review at the committee of the whole and approval at the city council level. From the time the applications are received to when council acts can be several weeks, especially if meetings are canceled.

According to Lemke, state law was changed in 2019 to give cities the option to have the operator licenses issued by staff members. Applicants will still have to follow the other steps including having a police background check.

Lemke noted that the council will still have the responsibility to decide if people should or should not get licenses if there are questions raised during the background check.

“We still get it if there is an issue,” said alderman Mike Bub.

The recommendation passed 7-0 with alderman Christine Weix absent.

Burning

After facing pushback and questions when it was first presented earlier this month, aldermen gave their support to a revised ordinance to regulate open burning including backyard campfires in the city.

Eliminated from the proposed ordinance were time limits as well as reducing the setback requirements from homes and structures. Bub questioned the ordinance’s requirement for a 12-foot setback, noting some of the lots are small in the older parts of the city.

City coordinator Joe Harris defended the limit saying that if it gets much closer than 12 feet it starts to be an issue.

“I don’t think anyone will go around and measure unless there is a problem,” Bub said.

The ordinance also takes a softened stand on interaction with neighbors eliminating language about wind speed, but saying that any fire that is causing excessive smoke in a neighbor’s yard will have to be extinguished. The ordinance also sets up allowing the city to grant permission for bonfires held as part of community events on a per event basis.

The proposed ordinance will go to the full city council on August 3.

In other business, aldermen:

_ Recommended moving forward on submitting a 3% water rate increase to the Public Service Commission. According to Harris, the cost of hauling chemicals for water treatment as well as infrastructure expansion has put a stress on the water department. The incremental price increase would go into effect on January 1. Based on the regular residential water usage rates, the increase would be under $1 a month on most residential water bills. He said the increase will generate an additional $15,000 to $20,000 per year for the city water utility.

_ Recommended tapping into savings in the landfi ll remediation account to keep refuse and recycling fees unchanged for next year. The city has about $358,000 in the remediation account. This is money set aside for if the city ever needs to do a project at the closed landfill. The city adds to that fund whenever it sells wood chips from the city’s yard waste site. The city has been able to use savings like this to keep the rate stable for the past few years.

_ Recommended granting a retail liquor license to Kwik Trip for their new store on North 8th St. (Hwy 13). The store is one of two being built and set to open later this summer. The license for the current store will be transferred to the other location when that opens.

_ Recommended renting the city pool to Rural Virtual Academy on August 17 for a private event for new and returning students. The pool will officially close for the regular season on August 16, but will be open for a free swimming night as part of the 2021 Park Fest scheduled for August 19.