By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
The Nephi City Council met in regular session in the council chambers of city hall located at 21 East 100 North at 7:35 p.m. Tuesday, August 25, 2020 prior to the work session that was scheduled for the evening. Mayor Glade R. Nielson called the meeting to order and welcomed all present. Mayor Nielson explained that the council meeting had been scheduled to consider the approval of a beer, business, and special event application from the Ute Stampede Committee for the Extreme Bull Riding Event to be held at the fairgrounds on September 19, 2020. The Ute Stamped Committee was applying for a Class A Beer License that would allow for the sale of beer in original containers for consumption off premise. Nielson said that a conference call meeting had been conducted with Commissioner Clinton Painter, Commissioner Byron Woodland, Sheriff Doug Anderson, Anita from the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Chief Mike Morgan, Seth Atkinson and the beer distributor. Nielson said that the original idea of a “beer garden” was not allowed by the state because of the COVID-19 restrictions. He said that if the beer license is granted that certified servers would be selling the beer. Commissioner Woodland addressed the council and said that the Ute Stampede Committee had given a great presentation to the commissioners (at a previous meeting) and at that time the commissioners had voted to allow the sale of beer at the event. He stated that now that he had had more time to think, he decided that he was against the beer sales. He believed that the event could still be successful without beer sales. Nathan Memmott, council member, questioned the committee about signing a facility lease agreement with the county. He interpreted the code to mean that since the committee had leased the entire fairgrounds, the “premise” was the entire fairgrounds and that the consumption of the beer would not be off premise but would be on premise, therefore he would be against approving the beer license. Memmott said he was adamantly opposed to allowing beer to be sold at the event. The Ute Stampede Committee interpreted the code as the building where the beer is sold to be the “premise” and that the arena where the beer would be consumed would be off premise and would comply with the Nephi City code. Nephi City Attorney Kasey Wright read the Utah State code’s definition of “premises” and said that he legally could defend both interpretations of the code but thought that the committee’s interpretation more aligned with the state code’s definition. He stated that the council is making an administrative decision and if the application meets all the requirements of Nephi code, then the council could not deny the license. Jim Welburn, resident, commented that he thought the public should be more involved with this decision and that hurried decisions aren’t always the best decisions. Chris Memmott and Kyle Garrett from the Ute Stampede Committee indicated that their desire was to provide a good show every year. They said that the money earned from beer sales would aide in them being able to provide the kind of rodeo that people want. Jonathan Webster, committee member, said that when they filled out the lease agreement from the county, they had to check the boxes of what facilities they wanted to rent at the fairgrounds. He concluded that since each facility was rented separately that the agreement implied that each building or venue was a separate premise. Justin Seely, council member, clarified with staff that this was an administrative decision and not based on the merits of beer sales at a community event. Seth Atkinson, city administrator, verified that this was an administrative decision and that the staff felt that the application met the city code requirements. Larry Ostler, council member, stated that alcohol is being consumed at the events at the fairgrounds whether the committee sells the beer or not. Ostler moved to approve the Class A beer license. Seely seconded the motion. The vote was as follows: Kent Jones; Nay, Larry Ostler, Yes; Nathan Memmott, Nay; Justin Seely, Yes. Skip Worwood, council member, was not present. Mayor Nielson broke the tie with a “Yes” vote. The motion carried. Jones moved to approve the business license application for the Ute Stampede Committee. Ostler seconded the motion and the motion passed on a unanimous vote. Jones moved to approve the special events application for the Ute Stampede Committee. Memmott seconded the motion. The motion passed on a unanimous vote. Ostler moved to adjourn regular council meeting and convene into executive session to discuss litigation, collective bargaining, and real property. Jones seconded the motion, which passed on a unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. Those present were: Mayor Glade R. Nielson; Council Member Kent Jones; Council Member Nathan Memmott, Council Member Larry Ostler; Council Member Justin D. Seely; Council Member Skip Worwood (ABSENT); City Administrator Seth Atkinson; City Attorney Kasey L. Wright; City Recorder Lisa E. Brough. Guests: JD Parady, Clint Painter, Byron Woodland, Susan Woodland, Jim Welburn, Traci Welburn, Gerratt Bethers, Jonathan Webster, Jerry Shepherd, Kyle Garrett, Kyle Carter, Darin Howard, Chris Memmott.
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