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Family Dollar beer-and-wine license hearing continued after clerk flags application deficiencies
Summary
A public hearing on a Family Dollar beer-and-wine license application in Monte Vista was continued after the city clerk and hearing officer identified missing information, employee notification concerns and a dated petition; the applicant agreed to return with store management and corrected documentation.
The Monte Vista City Council, acting as the local liquor licensing authority, continued a public hearing on a beer-and-wine license application for Family Dollar at 1569 Ivy after the city clerk and the hearing officer raised deficiencies in the application and related materials.
The hearing included Tommy Jackson, a consultant representing Family Dollar, who acknowledged he was not sure what the technical problem with his video feed was. The city clerk said the application process began in March, that the completed application was not filed until August, and that notice posting issues delayed scheduling the hearing earlier. The clerk told the council she discovered, during a store visit to post the public-notice sign, that store employees appeared unaware of the pending license application.
Why it matters: the clerk and hearing officer cited employee training and store layout as operational issues tied to theft risk, and they said those topics should be clarified before a license is approved. The hearing officer recommended a continuance so the applicant could correct the deficiencies and bring the person who would manage liquor sales to the next hearing.
Concerns cited The clerk noted a diagram in the application showing beer stored in a cooler near the store entrance and wine planned for an end cap. She said the Division of Liquor Enforcement prefers wine to be stocked in an aisle rather than an end cap because end-cap placement raises theft risk. She also said she had received only a one-line reply from the application circulator (Elena, of Decisions Consulting) and that employees had not been briefed about responsibilities for storing, monitoring and selling alcohol.
The hearing officer pointed out additional paperwork issues: a petition letter in the packet bore inconsistent dates (a letter dated Jan. 4, 2023 referencing a petition with December 2023 entries, described by the hearing officer as a red flag). The officer said the applicant may prefer to request a continuance to correct the record; if denied, the applicant could wait two years before reapplying.
Applicant response and next steps Tommy Jackson, the consultant for Family Dollar, agreed to request a continuance and said the applicant would provide the person who will manage the store’s liquor sales and address the clerk’s concerns. The hearing officer closed the public-hearing portion of the matter and the council directed the clerk to contact Family Dollar to set a new hearing date after the identified deficiencies are corrected.
No formal vote was taken to deny or approve the license; the matter was continued by agreement of the applicant and the hearing officer’s recommendation.
