Council amends alcohol-license fees after Marketplace Foods urges issuance fee

The Minot City Council voted to amend its proposed alcohol-license fee schedule and then approved the amended resolution. Alderman Blessum moved changes to the fees, seeking modest increases intended to generate fee revenue without creating separate issuance/application complexity; the amendment passed 6–1 (dissent from Alderman Locken). Council later recorded the main motion as passed.

Marketplace Foods attorney Jessica Klein testified in favor of establishing a one-time issuance fee for the newly created off-sale liquor license, arguing it would recognize the license's market value, discourage speculative applications and help offset city costs. Klein pointed to local and regional comparisons, saying several jurisdictions have established issuance fees and noting a recent local auction price of $140,000 for a liquor license as evidence of economic value. She urged council to consider a meaningful upfront fee — she suggested $43,000 as a reasonable starting point based on Grand Forks experience.

Council debate addressed whether the off-sale license should be treated differently from other licenses and whether payment-system limits made one-time issuance fees administratively difficult. City staff noted the payment system can handle renewal fees but that a manual process would be required for a single large initial issuance fee; staff estimated an off-sale issuance could be processed manually at $5,000 if council wanted that option. Alderman Blessum said his amendment adjusts base annual fees (one example noted: retail liquor license contemplated increasing from $3,125 to $5,000 in discussion) to better reflect administration and public-safety costs. The council approved the amendment and the resolution moved forward.