Jamie, parks staff, told the City of Wausau Parks and Recreation Committee that two proposals were received for the RiverLife concession stand and that committee members should review evaluation sheets and return their scores by Jan. 16; a decision is scheduled for the Feb. 2 meeting.

Juan Casa Rubius, one proposer, said his aim is to "turn the Riverwalk concession into an iconic welcoming gathering place for resident, families, and visitors," offering coffee and pastries in the morning, followed by lunch and dinner service, weekly kids’ activities, and summer live music. He asked that the committee consider allowing the vendor to apply for a beer-and-wine license to accompany meals and said he plans to operate year-round via delivery platforms if selected: "We are also intending to open during the winter, providing delivery service through, the delivery platforms that there are, DoorDash and and, Uber Eats."

Alderman Rasmussen pressed the proposers on licensing and containment requirements for alcohol, saying officials must check whether a seasonal operation would meet requirements for Class B (beer) and Class C (wine) licenses and asking how the licensed premise would be demarcated: "They can't take the beverage and, you know, walk down the trail with it or leave your premise," Rasmussen said, adding that the liquor-license review subcommittee and the public health and safety committee would review such an application.

Dylan Alwin presented a simplified, lower-monthly-lease proposal focused initially on shakes, malts and ice cream with a staged approach to growth. He described a fundraising feature in which a portion of profits would be routed to registered nonprofits and said the proposal currently targets returning about "5%" of profits to charities.

Jamie said the RFP included a draft lease and evaluation criteria; staff will work with the successful proposer and City Attorney Anne to finalize lease dates and amounts. No vendor was chosen at the meeting. Jamie asked members to send any follow-up questions before Jan. 16 so staff can aggregate answers for the committee before the Feb. 2 vote.

Alder Lukens noted both proposals are different and said, "Too bad we don't have 2 spaces available because they are very different," underscoring that committee members should weigh vision and sustainability as they score the proposals.

Next steps: committee members should return scored evaluation sheets to Jamie by Jan. 16; the committee will reconvene on Feb. 2 to select the vendor and begin lease negotiations.