Council grants temporary brewer permit but keeps police‑coverage fee; applicant withdraws

The Lindstrom City Council on May 21 unanimously approved a temporary on‑sale liquor license for a local brewer’s June 21 downtown event but refused to waive the city’s standard requirement that the licensee pay for a dedicated police officer.

Brad Clap, co‑founder and president of Uncontinental Brewing Company, told the council the business serves about 600 barrels a year and had applied for a temporary on‑sale permit to operate a fenced beer‑garden at the Coffee Pot event. Clap said he was prepared to follow state permitting but that a city requirement to hire a Lakes police officer at $70 per hour for the roughly six‑hour event would be a “non starter.” “We would have to sell 200 beers in order to pay for that officer,” Clap said, describing the fee as an expense his small operation could not absorb.

The council split the agenda item into two votes. First it voted to grant the temporary license, contingent on meeting city code and the state Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement (AGE) processing. Then members considered a separate motion to waive the city’s police‑coverage fee. After discussion about precedent—councilors noted the city typically required an officer at temporary events, including nonprofit‑run ones—and concern for public safety, a council member moved to maintain the requirement that the licensee pay for police coverage; that motion passed unanimously.

Mayor (speaker 3) and multiple council members emphasized treating applicants consistently. One council member said the city should not “pick and choose” so that nonprofits and for‑profit operators are treated differently. Staff explained temporary on‑sale permits had historically gone to nonprofits and that the new brewer provision at the state level makes for‑profit applicants more common, complicating past practice.

Clap said Uncontinental encouraged a police presence but could not bear the additional expense and, after the vote, withdrew the application for the on‑sale permit.

The council’s approval of the license will still be forwarded to AGE for final processing; the requirement that the licensee pay for posted officer hours remains part of the city’s special‑event or temporary‑license conditions. Council members asked staff and the event organizers to continue coordinating on special‑event logistics so public safety and crowd management can be planned in advance.

The council’s decisions were procedural in nature: the license was granted (vote recorded in the council minutes) and the exception request to waive police coverage was denied. The applicant voluntarily withdrew the request rather than pursue an event that would carry the required policing cost.