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Alcohol Task Force Meets With Caribou Traders Liquor And Kusko Liquor For The First Time

Bethel’s two liquor license holders, Kusko Liquor and Caribou Traders Liquor, met this week with the city's Alcohol Task Force to talk about what's going to happen when alcoholic beverages start being sold again in stores.
Christine Trudeau
/
KYUK

  

Bethel’s two liquor license holders met with the city's Alcohol Task Force this week to talk about what's going to happen when alcoholic beverages start being sold again in stores, which is going to happen pretty soon.

 

On Monday, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board agreed to allow the currently closed Bethel Spirits to transfer its license to Caribou Traders, and on Tuesday the Alcohol Task Force followed up. Caribou Traders’ General Manager, Todd Perez, told them that he hopes to have the new store open in the old Bethel Spirits location before the end of the year.  

 

“What your intentions are about what the amount of alcohol that we’re going to see in this community is,” asked Tundra Women’s Coalition Executive Director Eileen Arnold, wanting to get a few things cleared up.

 

“What your ideas about being responsible are, and also hear about if you’re committed to being part of managing the negative things that we see that come from alcohol in our community,” Arnold continued.

 

Also there to discuss the path forward with the task force was the other licensee, Cezary Maczynski. Both vendors wanted to talk about voluntary limits and ways of tracking customers. Todd Perez said that Caribou Traders hopes to limit police calls to its location by enforcing strict "door security" measures. He added that they’re still figuring out the logistics of their new building, which is still being vacated by Bethel Spirits.

 

“Our goal is not to be selling unlimited liquor to people. We want to have restrictions on that, number one. And number two, we will have security at our door. The idea is that somebody comes in and they’re already intoxicated; number one don’t sell to them. And my number two is you gotta manage the door itself,” Perez said.

 

The Alcohol Task Force had some additional business to conduct beyond talking to the two liquor licensees because it's coming to the end of its one-year term laid out by the city council, and a new structure is needed.  

 

City council members still want to participate, but Bethel City Clerk Lori Strickler says that they need to proceed with caution, so as not to violate the Open Meetings Act by deliberating policy without proper public notice.

 

“The communication of the members of this body, if occurred outside of a public meeting, could be a violation of the Open Meetings Act if you guys are deliberating on actions and recommendations that would be later brought to the city council,” said Strickler.

 

The city has asked for a new sponsoring organization to step forward to sponsor the Alcohol Task Force. It will have one final meeting under city sponsorship on January 15, 2019 at 6 p.m.