During their Dec. 14 meeting, Bethel City Council will once again consider their ongoing series of pandemic mitigation measures. The council will also vote on whether to approve the city manager’s recommendation to renew the liquor license for Fili’s Pizza and the marijuana license for ALASKABuds.
The pandemic mitigation measures come up for renewal every two months. Among them are the city wide mask mandate and a measure that requires unvaccinated people traveling to Bethel to either quarantine or test for the virus. There’s also a measure that allows households and businesses to accrue a certain amount of debt before the city shuts off their water services.
Also up for renewal is the liquor license for Fili’s Pizza and the marijuana retail license for ALASKABuds.
City manager Pete Williams said that this year there have been 78 calls to the Bethel Police Department regarding Fili's Pizza. But he said that the Fili’s Pizza address gets used as a catchall for the whole neighborhood, and that only about 20 of the calls had to do directly with the business itself.
“The take I got was there was inebriates either were in the parking lot or were trying to get into the restaurant, and they asked them to leave,” said Williams.
Williams said that the planning department found a small code issue with the Fili’s Pizza parking lot, but they’re working it out with the business. Williams said that he plans to recommend that city council accept Fili’s Pizza's liquor license renewal. He said that city council is within their right to deny the license, but they must have a valid reason.
“It can't be just because they don't like alcohol. They have to have some foundation for denying the license,” said Williams.
Williams said that the same goes for the ALASKAbuds marijuana retail license renewal. He said that city officials haven’t reported any issues with ALASKAbuds. He said that he’ll recommend their license renewal as well.
In more marijuana business, Councilmember Perry Barr has sponsored a bill to direct 20% of the tax generated by marijuana sales to Community Action Grants, which are grants reserved for projects around Bethel that benefit the public. The bill is expected to be introduced during tonight’s meeting and voted on in January.
