?BETHEL -- A Bethel retailer is withdrawing its application to open a liquor store in the Western Alaska hub community until after a new municipal advisory vote on alcohol sales scheduled for October takes place.
The corporation that owns the Alaska Commercial Co. store in the heart of Bethel is one of two that have applied for a liquor store license. The Bethel City Council in April voted to protest both applications pointing to, among other things, a 2010 advisory vote against sales of various types. It also decided to hear again from residents through a citywide advisory vote set for Oct. 6 on various possible configurations for legal alcohol sales, including a store, bar or restaurant.
Both the AC store, owned by the Winnipeg-based North West Co., and Bethel Native Corp. were given a chance to appeal the city opposition at Tuesday's council meeting, as required under state law.
Seth Madole, branch manager for the Bethel AC store, said the sensitivity of the alcohol issue and the coming city vote prompted the retailer to withdraw for now. He said if the city votes in support of alcohol, the store will reapply for a liquor license.
There have not been legal alcohol sales in Bethel in four decades. The community voted to become wet in 2009 but no licenses for sales have been approved. Residents can bring in unlimited amounts of alcohol for their own consumption.
Bethel Native Corp. has proposed opening Bethel Spirits liquor store on the second floor of a building that was briefly home to the new Swanson's grocery and department store before it went out of business. Its application remains before the Alcohol Beverage Control Board. The board next meets July 1 in Fairbanks.
Ana Hoffman, president and chief executive of Bethel Native Corp., told the council she has submitted 400 letters of support for its proposed package store. Bootleggers are already selling in Bethel and surrounding villages, targeting the community's most disenfranchised people who don't have the capability to place a Bush order with an urban seller, she said.
"It is people who do not have credit cards, people who don't have bank accounts, people who don't have access to scanners or fax machines in order to send their IDs to liquor stores in Anchorage," Hoffman told the council. "It is people who cannot afford to buy in bulk. It is people who operate in a minimal cash economy."
One Anchorage seller, Captain Sparrow, recently left fliers at Bethel homes with prices and detailed instructions for legal Bush orders.
The question is whether the council will support legal, regulated sales or, through inaction, tolerate illegal sales, Hoffman said.
The October advisory vote during the regular municipal election was scheduled for the city's convenience, and falls after the tight time frame for liquor license decisions prescribed in law, she said.
Bethel Native Corp., she said, is not being afforded "a reasonable opportunity" to defend its proposal.