The Safety and Licensing Committee met 10/23/2024. One of the items they took up was the Class B Beer and Reserve Class B Liquor License application for Delaire’s. This item was initially unanimously recommended for approval but then referred back to the committee for further discussion by Alderperson Brad Firkus (District 3) after he became aware of possibility that this establishment might be operated as a gambling lounge rather than a coffee house that also served a curated selection of spirits, wines, and craft beers as portrayed in the business plan.
The committee received information on a previous gambling business Delaire’s owner, David Boulanger, had attempted to open. Alderperson Katie Van Zeeland (District 5) indicated she also had video evidence that suggested David, the owner, was also intending to install gaming machines in this establishment.
The committee ended up holding the item until the 12/11/2024 Safety and Licensing Committee meeting to provide time to contact Boulanger and ask him to attend the meeting so that they could talk to him about the allegations.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
Delaire’s is theoretically intended to be a coffee shop that also sells some alcohol products. Alderperson Van Zeeland had initially wanted to know how the city could make sure that people would not be leaving the establishment with to-go coffee cups filled with alcohol. Out of this curiosity, she visited the building to get a better idea of what it was like.
She noted that all of the tables were high top tables and a bar with stools where people were served. Additionally, the space appeared to have no noise dampening. None of these things were in keeping with what was normative for a coffee house, and she said, “It gives me pause about approving an application when it appears to me that this is either a very new kind of business we’ve never seen before, or is likely not the business that that we’re being told it is.”
While she was looking at the building, the owner of a neighboring business told her that someone who was working on Delaire’s space had said they were upgrading the electricity so that they could install gambling machines.
After this interaction, Alderperson Van Zeeland did some searching on the internet and discovered that Boulanger had attempted to open a gaming lounge in the Village of Grafton but had been denied a conditional use permit after he refused to not install gaming machines in his business even after it was determined by the village that the gaming machines he intended to install were illegal under Wisconsin State law. According to an article by GM Today:
Boulanger said he intended on using the game machines and that they would have payouts of some kind where customers could win money or value.
“Essentially, under Wisconsin law, any device that provides value in a game of chance is considered illegal under Wisconsin statutes and village ordinance,” attorney Jonathan Woodward said during last week’s Plan Commission meeting.
Planning staff’s report on the conditional use permit included a recommendation that Boulanger be required to not have payouts from the gaming machines. Boulanger did not agree to that condition, at which point the Plan Commission denied the permit application.”
Alderperson Van Zeeland also stated, “I do actually, in my possession, have a video of somebody entering the business with a key telling a neighboring business owner that they were going to be putting gambling machines in that location, and also a text message between a neighboring business and their landlord confirming that slot machines would be installed.”
Assistant City Attorney Zak Buruin told the committee, “[I]f what is alleged is true, this business could not operate lawfully in Appleton or in the state of Wisconsin. And I don’t want to get hyperbolic here, but in the literal, statutory sense, if what’s being alleged is true, then the business plan would have would essentially amount to an ongoing criminal conspiracy, because commercial gambling is criminally illegal in the state of Wisconsin, and this appears to be, based on the allegations, potentially, a plan to violate that, whether or not anybody else is actively attempting to break the law or not.”
He also told the committee that the city has a lot more discretion over granting a license versus taking away a license once it has been granted, and told the committee that making a decision on an initial application “is one of the few times and the time when the committee and the council has the most discretion that it’s going to have in terms of what decision to make in the interest of the community. The ability to make those decision does need to be rational. It needs to be based on evidence, information. It can’t be arbitrary, capricious, any of that kind of stuff. But with the information that was provided, it does appear that there is a significant basis, at least, to raise some questions and perhaps flesh out the factual record a little bit more.”
Later in the meeting he told the committee, “while there may not be prior ongoing existence of these machines, […] if the committee and the council are reasonably satisfied and rationally so that [installing gambling machines] is the intent, that this is the plan, and that conclusion is based on rational evidence that a reasonable person would say supports the same kind of conclusion, there’s no reason […] that the committee or the council has to provide a license to somebody that it believes reasonably is going to use it to violate the law.”
Alderperson William Siebers (District 1) made a motion to hold the item until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Safety and Licensing Committee. Due to the fact that the Common Council was holding a special meeting on 11/13/2024 to approve the 2025 budget and that the committee would not be meeting on 11/27/2024 due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the next meeting was not until 12/11/2024.
Alderperson Siebers believed a hold was warranted, stating, “[T]here’s a lot of questions that have to be answered yet. And there’s some—maybe this isn’t the right word. So, there’s allegations that I think are very serious that I believe the person is applying for the license needs to be present to answer those in all fairness to that person.”
Alderperson Van Zeeland, who was not a member of the committee, noted that they did have two weeks to notify the applicant and ask them to attend the Common Council meeting on 11/06/2024. She said, “I would like to hear what they have to say. At the same time, I think that a news report of someone admitting to wanting to engage in criminal activity and choosing not to apply a stipulation to their business that they will not engage in criminal activity feels to me like enough to not grant a liquor license because of the gravity of owning a liquor license.”
Alderperson Chad Doran (District 15), who was a member of the committee, preferred to discuss the item at committee that evening rather that holding it for a month and a half. He noted that it could always be referred back to committee if the Common Council believed doing so was warranted.
Alderperson Chris Croatt (District 14) responded, “I understand what you’re saying, but I think, you know, with the information that we have in front of us, and possibly new information that we will get before the next time we meet, I don’t have any problem with the hold.”
The committee voted 4-1 to hold the item until 12/11/2024, with Alderpersons Siebers, Denise Fenton (District 6), Alex Schultz (District 9), and Croatt voting to hold it, and Alderperson Doran voting against the hold.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1217786&GUID=4D35301B-9795-4409-B33D-0E39E59BC348
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