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INDIANAPOLIS - No decision was made Tuesday by Judge James Payne on Robert T. Carter’s appeal regarding the Kosciusko County Alcohol Tobacco Commission’s denial of Carter’s petition for a new alcohol permit in Mentone, but nearly 90 minutes of evidence and testimony was presented by Carter and his attorney, Clark Kirkman.
No remonstrators appeared at the Indiana ATC hearing in Indianapolis.
Carter, who owns The Bulldog Saloon in Mentone, wants to have the beer-only permit at 206 Monroe St., Mentone, as part of his plans to ease into retirement and then will pass the saloon on to his daughter.
Kirkman laid out the history of Carter seeking the permit, saying the petition was originally approved by the Kosciusko County ATC in March after being continued from the February meeting due to commission members having some questions.
When the county’s recommendation to approve the petition got to the state commission for their final approval, the state had received some remonstrance so they remanded Carter’s application back to the county commission. The Kosciusko County ATC then denied the permit and the state upheld the local board’s recommendation.
“We intend to show that the denial was based on the remonstrance from people in town who had an axe to grind against Mr. Carter,” Kirkman said, adding the facts they presented were twisted somewhat. “Mr. Carter is a respected member of the community” and supports the community. Kirkman said the local board’s decision to deny Carter’s petition was arbitrary and capricious “based on substantial or lack of evidence that there is neither desire for the services to be provided by my client, and that there will be no negative impact on the surrounding community or business due to the operation.”
Under oath and questioning by Kirkman, Carter gave Payne details of where he lives and about the town of Mentone, describing it as a small and close community, and his involvement in the town. He said he’s owned The Bulldog Saloon for going on 21 years and in that time has never received a notice of violation from the ATC.
Kirkman asked Carter why he was interested in applying for the beer permit, and Carter responded, “So I’m 66 now and I turn 67 in January and I’m going to retire. My whole life, I worked, I took care of my kids, I did what I needed to do at the time, and I’ll say what I made, we used it for living. My kids had a good life, and I’m proud of it.”
The new 800-square-foot business will help subsidize his Social Security, but he doesn’t want it to be as demanding as The Bulldog Saloon is. “I want it where I can run this on my own,” Carter stated. He envisions the place being open somewhere around Tuesday or Wednesday through Sunday, from about 2 to 8 p.m. He said he doesn’t want to do a lot of food, just the minimum required by law, such as frozen pizzas and cold cuts.
Another source of income for the bar will be Pull Tabs, Carter indicated.
During the approximate 90-minute hearing, Kirkman presented 22 exhibits as evidence, including Carter’s permit history and the history of alcohol permits in Mentone. Kirkman said the beer-only permit Carter sought had been in the quota for a long time, and Carter agreed. They also discussed previous alcohol permit holders in the town who no longer are in business.
“For every 1,500 persons in a jurisdiction, the jurisdiction is entitled to one beer, one beer and wine and one beer, wine and liquor permit,” Kirkman said.
Kirkman asked Carter what the status of his proposed business currently is. Carter said it’s in limbo and has been since March because he can’t go forward with it unless he obtains an alcohol permit. If he doesn’t get the permit, he said there’s no reason for him to invest money into something that’s not going to happen.
Were Carter to get the permit, Kirkman asked him if he had the order of operations to get the business open, and Carter said that was correct. Carter said he has an improved location permit from the town to make the improvements at 206 Monroe St. to open the bar. The proper zoning is in place, he stated, and he also talked about other estimates he got for work that was needed to be done.
Carter indicated if the ATC’s decision was overturned and he got the alcohol permit, he was looking at being open within 14 months.
Kirkman asked Carter about his prior charge of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated from about 2012. Carter said he only pled guilty to one OWI, a misdemeanor.
Accusations that Carter would hold a permit for a long time in escrow to keep anyone else from having alcohol sales in the town also were addressed. Carter explained that was around 2013 for a beer and wine license for a barbecue business but the license being held in escrow wasn’t intential but rather due to a series of problems beyond his control at The Bulldog Saloon.
He also answered Kirkman’s questions about the remonstration that was filed against his petition that led to the Kosciusko County ATC denying it because they said there was no need for it.
He said one of the remonstrators, Justin Hill, was someone he didn’t know personally but Hill made comments on Facebook about Carter’s plans. Hill also expressed concerns about Carter’s proposed business being too close to Mentone Youth League baseball fields, but Carter said the fields were over 400 feet from 206 Monroe St. He reiterated that The Bulldog Saloon was never cited by excise officers for a violation in the 20-plus years he’s been there.
Carter’s opposition to The Pug Pub having an alcohol license in town was brought up, and Carter stated Jesse Bubb, who wanted to open the Pug Pub, just remonstrated against him in retaliation. Carter said Bubb wanted to run The Bulldog Saloon out of business because of his past interactions with Carter.
“I don’t play the games, I’m sorry. He can call it whatever he wants, but I know what he’s doing,” Carter stated.
Kirkman also presented a petition of 66 signatures Carter had gathered in support of him getting the license. “I honestly could have gotten many more. There comes a point ... these are people I ran into at the store, at the gas station, they come into The Bulldog or I see them wherever,” Carter said.
When Payne pointed out the Kosciusko County ATC found there wasn’t a need for Carter’s business in the community and denied the permit application, Carter said excise officer April Tackett was just looking for a reason to deny it. Kirkman asked Carter who made the motion at the June meeting to deny it, and Carter said Tackett.
In closing, Kirkman requested the ATC issue the one-way beer permit to Carter based on the evidence presented Tuesday. He said Carter has over 20 years in the industry and has not had a violation. The one-way permit has been available in the Mentone quota for as long as the town has had alcohol beverage permits, at least according to ATC records, Kirkman said. The remonstration was based on personal animosity. The project is ready to go, Carter has a location and he has a plan.
No decision was made by Payne Tuesday.
