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Selectman asks Board to revisit Function Hall alcohol ban; Recreation staff explain 2017–2025 changes
Summary
Selectman Shipp urged reconsideration of the Function Hall alcohol ban, saying it reduced bookings; Recreation Administrative Assistant Mary Bengtson explained earlier permitting practices and administrative burdens that led to the 2025 prohibition and provided usage statistics.
Selectman Christopher P. Shipp asked the Board to revisit the alcohol policy at the Moultonborough Function Hall, saying the current prohibition reduced the building's usefulness for weddings and other private events. He said the Lakes Region Ice Racing Club had used another venue this spring rather than the town facility and attributed that in part to the ban.
Mary Bengtson, Administrative Assistant for the Recreation Department, explained that when the department began handling scheduling in 2017, alcohol was allowed if users complied with New Hampshire Liquor Commission requirements and the Town's bartender requirement. She described post-2021 changes in Liquor Commission processes and an administrative burden that led to the 2025 decision to separate rental documents and prohibit alcohol. Bengtson reported that "approximately 12 percent of private functions" under the prior system indicated alcohol on applications and that the hall averages roughly three weddings, anniversaries, or celebrations of life each year. The Board took no action.
