Taylor council delays final decision on Big League Brews license after heated hearing

Taylor City Council postponed a final decision on a mayoral suspension of Big League Brews’ business license after a two‑hour public hearing and extensive council debate.

The hearing opened after the mayor issued a suspension order following a June 15 incident near the bar. Owner Matt Taylor told the council he has run the business for 15 years and that he “feel[s] my due process was very much so violated,” saying he was given only a text and three hours’ notice before a meeting in which the suspension letter was presented. “I was never given a letter, I was never given anything in the mail,” Taylor said, adding he has a clean record on liquor and municipal citations going back years and that staff cooperated with investigators.

The bar’s counsel, Seth Tompkins of MT Legacy’s legal team, pressed a procedural challenge. Tompkins told council that the city code requires reasonable written notice and an evidentiary hearing before a mayor can suspend a license and said those steps were not followed here: “Three hours’ notice is not due process by any stretch of the imagination,” he said, warning the council that upholding the suspension could expose the city to federal litigation and damages.

Police Chief John Blair presented department data and urged caution. Chief Blair told council the police compiled roughly 160 incident entries over the last three years tied to the location or its patrons (some calls recorded after patrons left the premises) and said investigators and patrol officers told him the location was “out of control.” He described specific incidents, including a fatal stabbing in October 2024 and a more recent shooting, and said the department supported a “timeout” or other restrictions to reduce harm.

Jocelyn Monahan, litigation counsel for Big League Brews, told council that a suspension letter had been drafted before the initial meeting with the owner and argued the process had procedural problems that could be dispositive in court. “They had already decided… the suspension letter was already drafted, right? It was signed and drafted,” Monahan said.

Mayor Tim Woolley acknowledged an initial 60‑day suspension had been discussed but described a narrower compromise he later proposed: a two‑week suspension from July 2–16 coupled with a four‑week adjustment limiting Friday and Saturday closing times (close at 10 p.m.; alcohol sales cease at 9:30 p.m.). The mayor said the shorter proposal was intended to reduce the impact on employees while addressing neighborhood safety concerns.

Council members debated whether the mayor’s June 17 meeting with the owner satisfied the city code’s notice and hearing requirements and whether the record provided to council was sufficient to adjudicate the suspension on the merits. Several members emphasized the need to balance neighborhood safety and business impacts; others warned that procedural defects could make a 60‑day suspension legally vulnerable.

After discussion, Councilwoman Brandana moved and Councilwoman Daniels supported a motion to postpone the matter and resume the public hearing on Aug. 6, 2025. The motion carried. The council closed the hearing for this meeting and allowed public comment under open business so residents and employees could speak at three minutes per person.

What’s next: The council set the next hearing date for Aug. 6, 2025 and asked staff, the police department and counsel to assemble the packet of evidence and proposed mitigation steps to be reviewed before that meeting.