Aldermen adopt ordinance updating city code on alcoholic beverages to allow microbreweries

The Kearney Board of Aldermen unanimously approved on first and second readings Monday an ordinance amending Chapter 600 of the municipal code to address the sale of alcoholic beverages and the operation of microbreweries, bringing local code into conformance with Chapter 311 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri.

Sheila Ernsen, city administrator, said the change formalizes practices that had occurred locally but were not codified and updates fees to align with state law. “While we can be more restrictive than state law, we can't be counter or in conflict. And so we really need to get these added into our code so that we are not running counter or in conflict with state law,” Ernsen said.

The city staff told the board that a microbrewery has expressed interest in coming to Kearney and that the ordinance will make that development possible. Council members asked whether similar licenses had been used previously; staff said they could not find an earlier ordinance explicitly covering the activity and that an existing resort provision did not fully match state law.

The ordinance (bill 34-20-25) passed on roll call by a 3–0 vote: Aldermen Spencer, King and Holt voting aye. The approval updates the municipal code and fee schedule to reflect state statutory provisions; no change to the city’s overall alcohol policy beyond alignment with state law was recorded in the meeting.