New bar planned in Dorchester
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Dorchester Village Board approved a Class B combination liquor license last week for a new restaurant and bar in the old bank building on the corner of Front Street and County Road A.
The application, submitted by Reese Ewert, D.B.A Badger Boo, LLC, generated some discussion after a few board members expressed initial uncertainties about how the space was to be used. However, after review of the application, the board ultimately approved the license. According to documentation available at the meeting, alcohol will be served in what used to be the main floor lobby of the bank.
The application also mentioned potential plans to lease out other parts of the building to other businesses, with the property as a whole to be thought of as what the application describes as a “micro-mall.” Alcohol sales and consumption would only be allowed in the designated area in the main floor lobby.
The license will only be good through June 30, 2025, and will need to be renewed with all other licenses issued by the village on an annual basis.
Some of the initial trepidation was born out of the initial lack of details, and from in-
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formation trustees had heard from outside the meeting. Examples of what type of businesses may be leasing out space included a gym, bar, and indoor golf and shooting range, with the latter giving some on the board pause.
“The way I’m reading this is that he’s applying for a liquor license for that main lobby right now and that’s it,” village board president Keith Lageman said. “The rest are just possibilities, maybe later. And I think you could still have that range, have it downstairs if you can’t have liquor down there because you’d have the liquor license that is only good for the main lobby, and that’s what we are approving now.”
The motion to approve passed, with board trustee Clem Klimpke as the only dissenting vote.
Other business
â– Library director Sue Bedroske updated the board on the status of funding for the Dorchester Public Library. Over the past year, funding for the library from Clark County has come into question, with some at the county board level proposing a change in how the libraries are funded.
Distribution of funds for libraries at the county level is done on a per circulation basis. Currently, Clark County covers funding for all items rented by residents from Marathon County using Clark County libraries, and vice versa, following an agreement between the two counties that is over two decades old. Circulation numbers have changed over that time, and while the circulations were once relatively even between the two counties, more Marathon County residents now use Clark County libraries like Dorchester, Abbotsford and Colby, than Clark County residents use Marathon County libraries.
Because of this disparity, some members of the Clark County Board have been exploring options to lower contributions to libraries for Marathon County circulations or cut them altogether.
The Dorchester Public Library would see a significant hit to its funding if these changes were to go through, to the point that the library may have to close.
While the proposed changes did not go through as part of the most recent budget for 2025, Bedroske noted that the county board may still consider them in the future and, given her departure from the position as library director in July of this year, she wanted to make sure the village board was informed on the situation.
â– A roughly $42,000 change order for the project on East Second Avenue was approved by the board for American Asphalt. According to DPW Clint Penney, the road currently does not have a crown on it and the manholes are sticking up. The change order would cover the cost of putting the crown on the road for approximately 700 feet.
“If we don’t put a crown on that road, I think you are going to be fighting this issue here in 10 to 15 years,” Penney said.
FROM BANK TO BAR - A liquor license has been granted for the former bank on the corner of CTH A and Front Street in Dorchester. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN O’BRIEN
