The Cheese Days board wants event-goers this year to be able to carry beer and wine in open containers around the Square. And it wants to be able to have a beer garden on the Square.
The requests to the city are the first of their kind for special events since a 2004 ordinance rewrite opened the door for allowing alcohol in open containers in public areas. The city's Public Safety Committee should deny the request.
The biennial Cheese Days is one of the state's best-run and best-attended festivals. It brings tens of thousands of people to Monroe - many returning "home" especially for the event. While changes always are necessary to keep things fresh and current, allowing alcohol to play a bigger part in the activities isn't the right kind of change.
In the past, alcohol at Cheese Days has been available at the busy Berghoff & Blues beer garden off the Square and in crowded taverns. There's plenty of alcohol available for those who want it.
Segregating the alcohol sales also helps give Cheese Days a family feel, at least during the daylight hours. A first concern about the Cheese Days board's requests is that the idea of having children walking, standing or sitting next to people with beers in their hands might not be appealing to a number of families. Some may just decide to stay away, and that would be Cheese Days' loss.
The argument that allowing open containers on the Square is an effort to alleviate overcrowding in local taverns facing the Square is questionable. Simply limiting the number of people in a bar at one time can take care of the overcrowding issue if that's an issue needing addressing.
The board's beer garden request was predicted four years ago when the council approved the ordinance changes. Then, on June 1, 2004, city officials said the Cheese Days board requested the change so they could be permitted to hold a cheese, beer and wine tasting event in a tent. City officials then said festival organizers had no intention to open a beer tent.
But, as reported then in The Monroe Times, a local bar owner said he questioned whether that would happen in the future.
Allowing Cheese Days organizers to operate a beer tent on the Square would be a good way to raise funds to make the event profitable. But it would come at the expense of bar owners who pay for their liquor licenses and have come to rely on Cheese Days business. And perhaps to the detriment of the Monroe Lions Club's efforts at Berghoff & Blues.
The request isn't a good fit for Cheese Days and for Monroe. It hasn't yet come before the Public Safety Committee. When it does, it should be denied.
The requests to the city are the first of their kind for special events since a 2004 ordinance rewrite opened the door for allowing alcohol in open containers in public areas. The city's Public Safety Committee should deny the request.
The biennial Cheese Days is one of the state's best-run and best-attended festivals. It brings tens of thousands of people to Monroe - many returning "home" especially for the event. While changes always are necessary to keep things fresh and current, allowing alcohol to play a bigger part in the activities isn't the right kind of change.
In the past, alcohol at Cheese Days has been available at the busy Berghoff & Blues beer garden off the Square and in crowded taverns. There's plenty of alcohol available for those who want it.
Segregating the alcohol sales also helps give Cheese Days a family feel, at least during the daylight hours. A first concern about the Cheese Days board's requests is that the idea of having children walking, standing or sitting next to people with beers in their hands might not be appealing to a number of families. Some may just decide to stay away, and that would be Cheese Days' loss.
The argument that allowing open containers on the Square is an effort to alleviate overcrowding in local taverns facing the Square is questionable. Simply limiting the number of people in a bar at one time can take care of the overcrowding issue if that's an issue needing addressing.
The board's beer garden request was predicted four years ago when the council approved the ordinance changes. Then, on June 1, 2004, city officials said the Cheese Days board requested the change so they could be permitted to hold a cheese, beer and wine tasting event in a tent. City officials then said festival organizers had no intention to open a beer tent.
But, as reported then in The Monroe Times, a local bar owner said he questioned whether that would happen in the future.
Allowing Cheese Days organizers to operate a beer tent on the Square would be a good way to raise funds to make the event profitable. But it would come at the expense of bar owners who pay for their liquor licenses and have come to rely on Cheese Days business. And perhaps to the detriment of the Monroe Lions Club's efforts at Berghoff & Blues.
The request isn't a good fit for Cheese Days and for Monroe. It hasn't yet come before the Public Safety Committee. When it does, it should be denied.
