During their April 12 meeting, the Bethel City Council killed three proposed pieces of alcohol and marijuana-targeted legislation. It also pushed back the final vote on a transfer of land to ONC to June. The city council also granted funds to the most recent batch of Community Action Grant awardees.
April 12 was the final date for the city council to submit official protests to the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office for two businesses that want to open in town. Good Vibes is a proposed marijuana retail store, and UnCommon Pizza is a pizza restaurant that wants to serve beer and wine. Both ventures have applied for licenses. Councilmember Mary "Beth" Hessler wanted the city council to consider two pieces of legislation that would have served as official protests against the licenses, something the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office takes very seriously. But no other council member seconded her introductions on these items, which means they were killed.
Grant Keener is one of the owners of UnCommon Pizza. He flew to Bethel from Pennsylvania specifically for this meeting. The death of the legislation was anticlimactic, but welcome.
“We’re just looking forward to moving forward with the project and serving the citizens of Bethel,” said Keener.
He said that he hopes to break ground on UnCommon Pizza soon.
“We’ll start construction as soon as the first barge gets in, and we hope to be open by late summer or early fall,” said Keener.
The other piece of legislation to die was aproposed city law that would have banned marijuana shops from operating in Bethel. Like the marijuana license and the liquor license protests, Hessler was the member that made a motion to introduce the item, which no other council member seconded.
The Bethel City Council also moved to push back the final vote on a land transfer to the Orutsararmiut Native Council (ONC). The city owns the land under the ONC Multipurpose Building and wants to transfer it to the Tribe. The Bethel City Clerk recommended that the council push the vote back to comply with city rules on giving the proper notice and time that a land transfer requires. The council will now have its final vote on that transfer in June. City council member and ONC Tribal member Rose “Sugar” Henderson said that she’s looking forward to seeing what the Tribe will do with the land.
“Their plans to beautify that section of town with the way they described it was very impressive. Adding lighting, getting rid of those trees, flattening everything out. They’re gonna keep it as a community building,” said Henderson.
And finally, the city council voted to grant three local entities Community Action Grants. ONC has been given a grant for its annual Litter Patrol program, the Bethel Community Services Foundation received a grant to provide a workshop on healing through music and dance, and Bethel Friends of the Library has been given a grant that will fund its Jesuit Volunteer position for next year.
