Nude dancing continues in Bock
Council hears both sides

By DAWN SLADE
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 1/15/03

Roughly 30 people were jammed into the tiny Bock Village Hall on Monday night to voice their opinions on nude dancing at the newly-opened Fat Jackís bar and to hear what the city council is going to do about it.

For now, the city will be doing nothing.

After listening to several residents, the owners of Fat Jackís and employees of the establishment, the Bock City Council discussed its options with the cityís attorney Thomas Wenner.

Council members include Ed Johnson, Mal Weisenburger, Cindy Ryan and Carl Jerdin. The mayor of Bock is Margaret Girard.

Some community members were adamantly opposed to the bar, more specifically the nude dancing.

The minister at Emanuel Lutheran Church, Janet Gwin, said, "Iím opposed to having the bar here in town, operating as is. Area churches will be fighting this."

"If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, itís probably a rat," Karen Hardy piped in from the entry way of the building.

Cassandra Ingberg, who stated she moved to Bock from the Twin Cities just three months ago said, "If I wanted to live in that kind of environment, I wouldíve stayed in the cities."

Robin Sothman said, "Iím opposed to this entirely. I donít know why they chose to attack a small town like Bock."

And previous owner of Budís, Arnold Reese, told the council, "If Iíd have known they were going to do something like this, I wouldnít have sold them the business."

But others werenít as opposed to the establishment. One business owner stated she was neither for or against the bar, but was concerned with parking.

Jeremiah Johnson said of Bock, "The bars outnumber the churches three to one. Bock has never been a very clean town."

Another said, "I donít care if they strip."

Owner Richard Jacobson said, "Give us a chance to prove we can be good community members. Weíll work with you."

A bartender of Fat Jackís, Jessica Johnson, said, "Weíre good people. I have a family. We work hard. The ladies are all good people."

One person asked about the property values in the area. Jacobson said he has had studies done that show increases in property value of towns similar in size.

When asked about previous bars Jacobson has owned and fines related to those, Jacobson replied, "Why would you want to litigate, when you can work around it."

Jacobson made it clear he would work with the council and the community to come to some form of an agreement.

A resolution was introduced which in part stated the city attorney would have the authorization to take the appropriate action as deemed necessary.

Council member Ed Johnson made a motion to change the wording in the resolution to prevent the city attorney from taking action as deemed necessary.

He said, "It should read ëas directed by the city councilí rather than allowing the attorney to have free will and make decisions without us."

Johnson also pointed out to the council that the city has a budget that needs to be considered regarding legal fees.

The council voted unanimously to change the wording in the resolution as Johnson proposed it.

Wenner informed the council that with the bar currently in violation of the cityís liquor ordinance, which prevents nude dancing, the violation is a misdemeanor.

Wenner said the liquor license may be suspended and possibly revoked if there are a number of violations. There could also be penalties in the form of fines if they choose to impose them.

He also told the council, if the city did revoke the liquor license and the bar was operated as a "juice bar," it would take some time to regulate the type of conduct at the bar through ordinances, such as zoning.

"There are due process considerations that have to be met," Wenner added.

Fat Jackís liquor license is up for renewal June 30, 2003.

When Jacobson was asked how long he was able to continue as a juice bar in a previous location, he said, "I was in operation for eight and a half years without a liquor license."

Toward the end of the discussion, Ed Johnson said, "I think we may be jumping the gun. Why donít we talk to the people that own the establishment and ask them to come back to us with what they feel is nudity...until negotiations break down - then go to the attorney."

Johnson added, "If itís broken, letís see if we can fix it."

One of the concerns the council has in pulling the liquor license and allowing the establishment to continue nude dancing as a juice bar is the potential for people ages 18-20 being able to patronize the bar.

Wenner suggested that the council direct him to do nothing at this point. "See if something can be worked out," he told the council.

The council asked Jacobson for a formal, written proposal to be presented to the council by Feb. 15. Two council member will be out of state for some time and would like to read it before the next council meeting March 10.

Once the city receives the proposal, they can make it available to the public for review.

Manager of Fat Jackís, Brad McBride, said of the patrons reaction to the nude dancing, "Itís been an awesome reception. A lot more woman have come in than I ever imagined."

Jacobson said of the meeting, "The people listened and everyone had their opinion."

Jacobson said he felt the meeting went well.

"It was probably the right decision to make," he said of the council.