MONROE - Cheese Days organizers want people to be able to walk around the Square with beer or wine they've purchased from taverns during this year's event.
The request is the first of its kind for special events downtown, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley. It is part of the Cheese Days board's special permit request to the City of Monroe.
Director of Green County Tourism, Noreen Rueckert, said the board is requesting a suspension of the city's "open container" laws within the boundaries of the downtown Square.
If the City Council grants the special permit, customers of taverns on the Square will be able to walk around the Square with beer or wine, but not mixed drinks, during this year's version of the biennial event.
According to Kelley, who reviews special event permits before they go to the Public Safety Committee, the council rewrote an ordinance in 2004 to relax restrictions on consumption of alcoholic beverages in conjunction with special events.
The change allows people to possess alcoholic beverages in open containers while in public areas, pursuant to a permit issued by the city.
The permit has not yet been placed on the Public Safety Committee agenda.
"We have talked about it for a while," Rueckert said. "My main thought was four years ago Cheese Days had a hospitality tent. My intention was to incorporate sort of a beer garden. That needed an ordinance change."
New Glarus has such a permitted area for beer for its city, and Rueckert said it was "working for them."
Kelley said the Cheese Days permit has two components. One request is for a small "isolated" garden to be located on the Square. The Cheese Days committee would have to have a temporary Class "B" license.
Kelley said the garden boundaries are required to be identified with at least a rope.
The garden is not in competition with local taverns, but rather to offer local breweries' beverages, as well as to raise money for Cheese Days.
Rueckert said the Cheese Days board is looking to promote Green County's two local breweries along with its many cheese factories.
"And beer goes well with cheese," she said.
The other special event permit request is for allowing beer and wine in open plastic containers on the Square, in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in local taverns facing the Square during Cheese Days.
The city will be less strict on alcohol control and concentrate more on overcrowding.
"We are more concerned with overcrowding than isolating underage drinking," Kelley said.
Kelley said overcrowding in taverns during Cheese Days and other events has become a problem under building codes.
"The building inspector told me that if shoulders are touching, it's overcrowded," Kelley said. "We want to alleviate that."
The city has received more special event permit requests which include beer gardens. Opening the Square as a restricted area is an experiment in whether crowds can control themselves.
Alderman Chuck Koch said there are people who will abuse alcohol, "no matter what."
Intersections on the Square intersections will be blocked off diagonally, with "no alcohol beyond this point" signs posted at each corner.
The request is the first of its kind for special events downtown, according to Monroe Police Chief Fred Kelley. It is part of the Cheese Days board's special permit request to the City of Monroe.
Director of Green County Tourism, Noreen Rueckert, said the board is requesting a suspension of the city's "open container" laws within the boundaries of the downtown Square.
If the City Council grants the special permit, customers of taverns on the Square will be able to walk around the Square with beer or wine, but not mixed drinks, during this year's version of the biennial event.
According to Kelley, who reviews special event permits before they go to the Public Safety Committee, the council rewrote an ordinance in 2004 to relax restrictions on consumption of alcoholic beverages in conjunction with special events.
The change allows people to possess alcoholic beverages in open containers while in public areas, pursuant to a permit issued by the city.
The permit has not yet been placed on the Public Safety Committee agenda.
"We have talked about it for a while," Rueckert said. "My main thought was four years ago Cheese Days had a hospitality tent. My intention was to incorporate sort of a beer garden. That needed an ordinance change."
New Glarus has such a permitted area for beer for its city, and Rueckert said it was "working for them."
Kelley said the Cheese Days permit has two components. One request is for a small "isolated" garden to be located on the Square. The Cheese Days committee would have to have a temporary Class "B" license.
Kelley said the garden boundaries are required to be identified with at least a rope.
The garden is not in competition with local taverns, but rather to offer local breweries' beverages, as well as to raise money for Cheese Days.
Rueckert said the Cheese Days board is looking to promote Green County's two local breweries along with its many cheese factories.
"And beer goes well with cheese," she said.
The other special event permit request is for allowing beer and wine in open plastic containers on the Square, in an effort to alleviate overcrowding in local taverns facing the Square during Cheese Days.
The city will be less strict on alcohol control and concentrate more on overcrowding.
"We are more concerned with overcrowding than isolating underage drinking," Kelley said.
Kelley said overcrowding in taverns during Cheese Days and other events has become a problem under building codes.
"The building inspector told me that if shoulders are touching, it's overcrowded," Kelley said. "We want to alleviate that."
The city has received more special event permit requests which include beer gardens. Opening the Square as a restricted area is an experiment in whether crowds can control themselves.
Alderman Chuck Koch said there are people who will abuse alcohol, "no matter what."
Intersections on the Square intersections will be blocked off diagonally, with "no alcohol beyond this point" signs posted at each corner.