ARGYLE — Argyle trustees approved new fees for village liquor licenses at their meeting on Thursday, Oct. 15. Village Treasurer Kym Brunnert reworked the current liquor licenses to mimic the fees and categories used by Osage County.

“I just revised it to fit our needs,” she explained. “It will give us a guide to go by when people take over businesses.”

Brunnert also developed an application that businesses will have to fill out moving forward. “We’ve never done this before, but it would be good to keep this information with the license and file them together,” she said.

The new liquor license type and fees will be as follows: retail liquor with by-the-drink 5% beer, including Sunday sales ($325), by-the-drink 5% beer, including Sunday sales ($25), retail liquor by-the-drink 5% beer ($280), 5% by-the-drink ($25), original package liquor ($100), original package 5% beer ($50), retail liquor by-the-drink 5% beer and wine picnic for seven days ($50), and retail liquor and by-the-drink 5% beer caterer ($10 per day).

Currently, two bars and the local MFA are selling liquor.

“The whole reason behind this is to be fair to everyone,” Mayor Colby Davis said. “If the bars have to pay to sell liquor, then so does MFA.”

Typically, a request for a business to renew its village liquor license is sent out on June 1 and is due to be returned with payment by June 30. The license is prorated if a business requests the license outside of that timeframe.

Trustees did include an option for food truck owners to purchase a liquor license as well.

“If food trucks want to come down here, we welcome them,” Davis said. “They just have to jump through our government hoops.”

In other business, trustees plan to look over Bill #10-26, an ordinance vacating a portion of the right-of-way for what was previously known as Fifth Street. Trustees will review the ordinance and plan to read it at the November meeting for the first time, and again at the January meeting, before the process is completed.

Brunnert noted that all residents who live adjacent to the street are happy to see the village vacate the street and have it absorbed into the existing properties.

“The village is no longer taking care of the street,” Davis explained. “We’re forfeiting the property back to the property owners.”

“Originally, it was a gravel street,” Brunnert added. “We’re only vacating the areas that are not being used. The street will be divided in half, and each resident will get half of the property.”

“We’ve talked about this before I was even on the board,” Davis said. “We finally got some paperwork back on it, and everyone seems to be in agreement.”

“I’ve given a copy to most of the property owners, and so once I get them all back, I can move forward on it,” said Brunnert, adding she is waiting on everyone’s signature and that she has one resident yet to talk to. Brunnert noted that most property owners are already maintaining the abandoned Fifth Street.

“I think this is great; it makes something official that is kinda how things already are,” Davis said.

Brunnert noted that the village will retain easements to access sewer lines as needed on the abandoned street even after it is officially vacated.

• Trustees approved $500 in labor for Chris Reed to paint the village museum and maintenance shed.

Brunnert noted that Reed did not currently have time to paint the building, but trustees approved the amount so that he could work on the project when he has time.

• There are no updates on the property at 337 Third Street, which the village plans to give to resident Angie Thompson. Brunnert noted that she has been working on vacating Fifth Street and has not had time to work on anything else.

• Trustee Kody Biesemeyer noted that the stop signs at the intersection of Walnut and Third Street were not approved due to cost. “We discussed it a little, but it was a want, not a need,” said Trustee Chris Shanks. “Was there a situation there?”

Biesemeyer explained that he had been in an accident at the intersection several years before when he was on the fire department.

“Nobody comes out of that bar and stops, especially when they have been drinking,” Biesemeyer said.

Shanks asked if Biesemeyer had his lights and sirens on when he was hit. “I did have my lights and siren on,” Biesemeyer responded.

“You have to clear the intersection, dude,” Shanks answered.

“That’s why there needs to be a stop sign there,” Biesmeyer said.

“If they aren’t seeing lights and sirens, they are not going to see a stop sign,” Davis said.

“I get the concern,” Shanks said. “I really do, but people are going to steal the stop signs all the time, and if we put them at one intersection, we’ll have to put them in the others, too, and that’s going to get real expensive, real fast. I’m not trying to downplay what happened. I appreciate it from the emergency side, but I don’t think the sign would have fixed it.”

• Financial information was not available.

• The next board meeting will be held on Thursday, Nov. 19.