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Committee discusses Third Space Brewing’s Liberty Heights Park beer‑garden proposal; no vote taken
Summary
Third Space Brewing presented a proposal to operate a beer garden in Liberty Heights Park; attorneys and staff discussed limiting licensed premises, exclusive-seller rules, rental time-slot changes, cleaning responsibilities and security. The item was for discussion only and no permit was approved.
Third Space Brewing presented a proposal to host a beer garden at Liberty Heights Park during a discussion-only item before the West Allis Economic and Development Committee.
Attorney Decker, speaking for the city/legal staff, advised that the operator should "limit their premises to just the service area and then declare the entire park premises for our ordinances," which would let the city treat the event as a community-event premises and exempt the park from certain public-place restrictions while prohibiting carry-in alcohol from non-event vendors. Decker said sales would need to be transacted at a single licensed dispensing location and that purchasers could then carry purchased alcohol within the declared premises.
Committee members and staff discussed operational details with the applicant, including:
- Whether pavilion rentals would remain exclusive and how rentals would work when the beer garden is active; staff said the current fee schedule provides for whole-day rentals and that proposed changes would allow smaller increments to reduce conflicts. - Cleaning responsibilities: public works ("Cindy’s crew") currently cleans weekend facilities and would be responsible for cleaning between booked time slots; staff indicated this could be staffed without overtime by assigning a part‑time worker. - Rental time slots and pricing: staff said they would return with a proposed rental schedule (example slots discussed: 9–12, 1–4, 5–8) for the March 10 meeting to reduce conflicts with scheduled beer‑garden nights. - Security and storage of inventory: the applicant described locked beer trailers with wheel locks and said they planned additional physical security measures for trailers and dispensing equipment. - Event sound and programming: committee members asked about amplified sound; presenters said typical bookings would use small PA systems and that sound-level controls would be specified in event contracts.
Committee members discussed a phased approach (a three‑year contract starting with Fridays and Saturdays) and asked staff to bring final contract language, a revised rental-hour structure and cleaning/operations details to a future meeting if the committee wished to proceed with a pilot. No permit or contract was approved during the discussion; staff were instructed to return with a proposed contract and fee schedule.
