License approved, Cash Wise Liquors step closer to coming to Dickinson

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Cash Wise Liquors is one step closer to coming to Dickinson.

Commissioners approved a 17th on-sale/off-sale liquor license during a Dickinson City Commission meeting at City Hall on Monday.

Coborn’s Inc., Cash Wise Liquors’ parent company, is committed to building a grocery store and liquor store in the Roers’ Development in west Dickinson. Opening should take place in 2014.

Now that the license is approved, Coborn’s will have to pay $185,000 to the city for the license, plus $2,845 in yearly fees. The $185,000 will go into the city’s general fund.

Commissioner Klayton Oltmanns questioned the time in which Cash Wise Liquors would be built.

“If we’ve got two liquor licenses floating out there with the potential to not meet that one-year deadline, I would guess that we should state our stance on that,” he said.

The ordinance allows for one year from the date of issuance to begin selling, City Administrator Shawn Kessel said.

The license would then revert back to the city, all fees are retained by the city and bidding would start over again, City Attorney Matt Kolling said.

“I think that’s a little harsh in this environment,” Mayor Dennis Johnson said.

It is set up that way to prevent someone from holding a license and restricting the market, Oltmanns said, adding it’s meant for another business to start generating taxes and revenue.

Commissioners were concerned that one year was not long enough to complete most projects. Kessel planned to draw up an ordinance to address the need for extensions.

“The only thing in the case of this license if we leave ourselves room to go to two years or something like that I’d hate to see us have to wait until the week before the two years is up (without) dirt being moved to be able to take action,” Commissioner Gene Jackson said.

Walmart purchased a liquor license from Evil Olive Pizzeria and Bar roughly a year ago and has not sold any alcohol, Kessel said. State law requires it to remodel and create a separate liquor store within the store, rather than create space on the existing retail floor.

There were no plans to revoke Walmart’s license as it has been in constant contact with the city throughout remodeling, he said.

In other business

Dickinson will change the way it allows businesses to sell tobacco. In a unanimous vote, commissioners approved an ordinance that creates a license to sell tobacco products. Previously, the city granted authority to sell tobacco within its borders. The license allows for tougher punishment for violating tobacco laws, such as selling to minors. The first offense is $150, the second in two years is $250 and a third is $500. The license could also be suspended or revoked.

An application and yearly fee has yet to be set.

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