Politics & Government
Beer Garden with Expanded Hours Gets Council's OK
But fur flies in council chambers over hours of operation and oom-pah bands before measure is adopted.
It wasn't the repeal of the 19th Amendment, but you might have thought so.
After some unusually tense debate, the Wauwatosa Common Council gave its full blessing Tuesday night to a beer garden in Hoyt Park at Tosa Pool – and in doing so, also blessed it with longer hours than its management asked for, and unrestricted live music during whatever hours it might chose, and also scotched any mandatory council review of its operation.
The Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool, aware there would be some eyebrows raised over selling beer in front of a family swimming pool, had come to the city with a proposal to do business between 3 and 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with live music on some nights between 4 and 8 p.m.
The Plan Commission two weeks ago recommended approval of the beer garden, but not to open until 4 p.m. It also stipulated that any music was "not to be heard off-site" and only two nights a week. And it called for a review of operations after 90 days.
A week ago, the Community Development Commission shot down all those restrictions – including the FOHPP's own – and recommended approval of the beer garden with hours between noon and 10 p.m.
There was no question Tuesday night that the beer garden would be approved, but Alds. John Dubinski and Kathleen Causier, who represent District 2, home to the proposed site, had heard concerns from constituents and weren't going down without a debate over some restrictions.
They got one. Dubinski proposed three amendments to the liberalized recommendation from the Community Development Committee:
- Hours of operation from noon to 9 p.m. instead of noon to 10 p.m.
- Music with no amplification and no brass instruments from 4 to 8 p.m. only, and
- A review by the Common Council at the end of the first season of operation
Dubinski perhaps made a mistake in the beginning when, summarizing the amendments he was about to propose, he said he wanted "no polka bands" playing at the establishment.
When actually offering the amended language, he specified "no brass bands," but some damage had been done. (City Attorney Alan Kesner pointed out it would probably be illegal to specifically ban any genre of ethnic music.)
Dubinski immediately said he did support the operation of a beer garden at Hoyt but subject to some restrictions he thought reasonable – and he pointed out that he drank his first beer on an outdoor patio and personally owns a pair of lederhosen.
Dubinski said he was only trying to protect the quality of life of Menomonee Parkway neighbors. But he stepped in it again in defending shorter overall hours of operation for the beer garden when he worried about people "falling in the river" after an evening of drinking that stretched to 10 p.m.
The counterattack from supporters of the beer garden was probably stronger than it needed to be, given that Dubinski's amendments were basically well-intentioned and none stood any chance of passing anyway.
But Alds. Joel Tilleson, Craig Wilson, Dennis McBride, Cheryl Berdan and Bobby Pantuso took exceptional issue and said it was insulting that the city should impose those measures on such a successful management operation as Tosa Pool when nothing of the sort had ever been imposed on numerous taverns, restaurants and festivals that were merely subject to existing ordinance restrictions.
With the six founders of the Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool sitting in the front row – and the president and executive director eventually called upon to testify to their intentions – barbs really began to fly among council members.
Ald. Jill Organ, who is also lead engineer for the Parks Department, which is a partner in the beer garden, clearly supported the proposal but angrily chastised her colleagues for attacking the district representatives (Dubinski and Causier) who were merely trying to protect their constituents.
Those chastised shot right back that they were angry so much time was being wasted on debating again that which had already been debated.
Pantuso said he'd had enough of "nitpicking," Berdan pointed out that "we have a noise ordinance" that should cover concerns about music and laughter, and McBride said, "It's time to thank these people (FOHPP) for what they've done, not scorn them for what they haven't done."
One by one, Dubinski's three amendments were defeated soundly, with McBride and Ald. Jeff Roznowski abstaining from the vote because each is a member of the board of Friends of Hoyt Park and Pool.
On the last question – whether there should be a Common Council Committee of the Whole hearing at the end of the season to review the successes and failures of the beer garden – Dubinski pleaded that he didn't want a legislative review such as was proposed, only a discussion aimed at tweaking the garden toward and even better year to come.
That led Ald. Greg Walz-Chojnacki to ask for a friendly amendment to the amendment:
That the Committee of the Whole be convened at the beer garden, and that its business be conducted swiftly and adjourned promptly, with plenty of time left before closing.
Dubinski did not accept, his measure failed with his the only favoring vote, and he and Causier then relented and voted for the motion, which passed 13-0-2, McBride and Roznowski voting "present."
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