PENNINGTON: Council may grant first liquor license

Pennington has been a dry town since the mid-1800s, according to Councilman E. Weed Tucker

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   Pennington Borough Council is considering issuing a liquor license in town.
   To get public input on the issue, the council is planning to schedule a special meeting sometime in May.
   There are no liquor licenses in effect in the borough now. Pennington has been a dry town since the mid-1800s, according to Councilman E. Weed Tucker.
   Councilman Joseph Lawver said if a license were issued, it most likely would be for a restaurant, rather than a liquor store.
   Adequate room for parking and other possible constraints indicate a restaurant issued a liquor license would be in the vicinity of Route 31 rather than the downtown borough commercial area, which is on Main Street and Delaware Avenue.
   Mr. Lawver said the council is investigating the liquor license issue at the recommendation of the borough Economic Development Commission.
   ”In budget times like these, we’re looking at all possible sources of tax revenue,” he said.
   Mr. Lawver said the borough still is studying how much it might make from selling a liquor license. He said the sum could be in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, plus about another $5,000 each year for annual renewal.
   Mr. Lawver said federal regulations allow the borough to issue one liquor license for consumption purposes — i.e., at a restaurant — and one more for distribution purposes — a liquor store — but said the prevailing sentiment on council now is to investigate only the restaurant possibility.
   He added, in his view, an ordinance would be the best way to authorize the sale of a liquor license, which would be awarded to a restaurateur after an open public bid process.
   He said public input during the upcoming special meeting would be a determining factor in the council’s decision on whether to issue the license in a traditionally dry town.