Cedar Hall wins beer permit

The Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen, sitting as the suburb’s beer board, on Tuesday night approved a permit for a reception hall associated with a proposed bed-and-breakfast inn.

Aldermen also set a three-year limit on how long they could consider violations by businesses as the board assesses future penalties.

The approval of an on-premise beer license to Cedar Hall owner Denise Suthoff ended months of discussion and revising Bartlett’s beer ordinance to close loopholes in operating the reception hall.

Suthoff, who is converting the nearby historic home on Broadway to a bedand-breakfast, plans to add the reception hall for weddings and other events and wanted to sell beer.

As for the time limit for consideration of beer violations, the board agreed with Alderman Bobby Simmons’ suggestion of going back three years in considering previous violations.

In 2005, the board approved a trio of increasing penalties between a 15- day suspension of the license or a $500 fine for the first offense to revocation of the beer permit for a year on the third violation.

There was no limit on the length of time between offenses.

In recent months, fueled by the number of problems with businesses selling alcoholic beverages to minors, questions, primarily from Simmons, arose about how far back the city can go to consider previous violations.

Simmons eventually settled on three years being long enough and got unanimous approval of the time limit.