Rare municipal liquor license will allow for drink service at Watertown Regional Airport
An on-sale municipal liquor license for the Watertown Regional Airport was approved by the Watertown City Council during Monday's meeting.
That makes Shamrocks & Edelweiss Corp. one of only three businesses in the state to have such a license, according to City Attorney Matt Roby.
The license names Shamrocks & Edelweiss as the proprietor, but the city is the license applicant. The license allows the sale of alcoholic beverages at the new terminal.
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Roby explained to the council that the state allows municipalities to hold on-sale liquor licenses. There is also a statute that enables municipal airports to have an on-sale liquor license, and it doesn’t limit a third party from operating with the city license.
“Sioux Falls and Rapid City both have used this statute, and we are the third city in the state to be utilizing it,” Roby said.
As the city is the license applicant, there is no fee to Shamrocks & Edelweiss. This saves the business roughly $150,000. Roby told the council this is something the airport board agreed on with the company.
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“The airport board was inclined to do what it could to make sure this works financially for them,” said Roby. “The inclination has been to try and reduce costs as much as possible so this service can be (at the airport) long-term.”
Unlike a traditional on-sale liquor license, the airport license cannot be sold.
“It’s not an asset like a normal license is. This is simply a license to sell alcohol at the municipal airport. It can’t move. It can’t be transferred,” Roby said.
Airport terminal cost jumps $100K
The council also approved a change order for the airport terminal project, increasing the amount paid to Gray Construction by $100,655 and pushing the completion date back by 60 days.
The completion delay and cost increase are due to material shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original contract amount was $10.23 million. Other change orders had pushed the total to $10.82 million. With Monday's action, the cost is now $10.92 million. The city's share of the cost is about $33,000, with most of the money coming from the Federal Aviation Administration.
More: New terminal could include wall of fame to honor those who have contributed to air service
The airport terminal project with Gray Construction was completed on June 15. That includes the 60-day extension.
Kites, Flights and Bites, a grand opening for the new Watertown Regional Airport terminal, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 27.
Editor's note: The first name of the city attorney has been corrected in this story.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Liquor license approved for Watertown airport, will allow drink sales
