BENTONVILLE — The state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will consider applications for two liquor permits at a meeting Wednesday in Little Rock.
The board will follow up on a hearing for Stephen Nolte continued during his initial July 18 appearance. Nolte is applying for a permit for Lowell Liquor at 109 W. Monroe Ave.
Rick Crisman, an alcohol enforcement agent, said during the meeting the agency was informed of a church within 1,000 feet of the proposed location but hadn’t had a chance to investigate the claim. State law prohibits liquor stores from opening within 1,000 feet of a church or school.
Board members voted to continue the hearing until after agents and the applicant investigated the existence of the church.
The second applicant set for a hearing on Wednesday is Raymond “Chuck” Simmons for Hilltop Liquor at 165 W. Pickens Road in Pea Ridge. Simmons is the first of the applicants whose lottery numbers fell outside the initial 55 permit hearings. A lottery drawing was held in June to determine which of the 69 applicants would get first crack at the 55 liquor permits allowed for Benton County.
At A Glance
Permit Applicants
The state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will consider the following liquor permits on Wednesday in Little Rock:
Lowell
• Stephen J. Nolte: Lowell Liquor, 109 W. Monroe St. in Lowell
Pea Ridge
• Raymond “Chuck” Simmons: Hilltop Liquor, 165 W. Pickens Road in Pea Ridge
Source: Staff Report
The county was voted wet by residents in November.
The 55 hearings were held over three days in July. Thirty-nine permits were approved, 15 denied and the Nolte hearing was continued. The remaining 14 applicants have a chance at hearings dependent upon the outcome of several lawsuits filed regarding permits awarded or denied.
Eight lawsuits have been filed in three courts regarding the outcome of the July hearings. Applicants had 30 days after they received notification of the outcome from the board to file an appeal in court.
Four lawsuits filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court are related to permits approved. Christopher Moore, who was issued a permit for a store in Rogers, contested permits issued to Kym Reeves, Heath Hasenbeck, Timothy Harrell and Sarah Gildehaus. The complaints range from prohibited proximity to churches to claims of connection with other liquor stores in violation of state law.
The Reeves and Hasenbeck lawsuits haven’t yet been answered, but a lawyer for Gildehaus and Harrell filed a motion to dismiss both lawsuits. A judge hadn’t ruled as of Thursday afternoon.
Lidia Almaraz and Patsy Simmons filed lawsuits in Benton County Circuit Court regarding denials of their permit applications. Almaraz’s permit was denied after the board determined she was too close to a school and didn’t show up to defend her application.
Almaraz said in the lawsuit she wasn’t notified of the hearing in a timely manner and questions whether the nearby NorthWest Arkansas Community College annex should be considered a school.
Simmons filed a lawsuit Aug. 30. Her application was denied when the board decided her location at 612 N. Second St. was too close to three churches. During the meeting, Simmons contested whether the churches should be considered valid churches. She also offered to move the store to another property she owns that would be more than 1,000 feet from the churches.
The board said she must adhere to the address for which she applied because that was the address visited by enforcement agents during the investigation of the site’s suitability.
John Everett, Simmons’ attorney, said the complaints in the lawsuit are Simmons was not granted extended time to consider the additional location; it would be a “stretch” to refer to the churches listed as churches; and liquor store applicants are treated unconstitutionally when compared to applicants for other alcohol permits.
Two lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Little Rock against the state over the constitutionality of liquor laws. The lawsuits from Stephen Cherry and Robert McCurry center around the right to franchise and question a law prohibiting anyone from having an interest in more than one liquor store. Both have connections to the Macadoodle’s liquor store chain in Missouri. The latest developments include the state’s motion to dismiss filed Sept. 6. A judge hasn’t yet ruled on the motion.