WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — Wausau’s Public Health and Safety Committee is recommending revocation of the Paradox Bar’s liquor license. That decision made very early this morning after a lengthy public hearing.
The committee began taking testimony at 5:15 p.m., and didn’t wrap up the testimony and closing arguments until just after 11 o’clock. Then, it was another hour and a half of closed session deliberations before the committee returned with a decision to pull the license.
Scott Kurzynski is the license holder, and is charged with trying to buy 100 pounds of marijuana from undercover officers last fall, allegedly for resale out of the Paradox Bar. If convicted of those charges, he would have been forced to surrender the liquor license anyway.
Assistant City Attorney Tara Alfonso argued the case for the city. She’s pleased with the committee’s decision, and agrees it was important to seek action now. “From what I understand from Chief (Jeff) Hardell, a lot of people have been asking why the bar is still open when these charges have been brought. Other bar owners have been asking that question, sort of looking at that, you know, we need to do something and we need to look at this seriously, and so we did.”
Alfonso says losing the liquor license does not shut down the entire business. She says he could still run the restaurant operation. “That’s what happened even with That’s Our Clubhouse, is the liquor license is gone but the other licenses remain, so it is possible to operate that as a restaurant.”
Kurzynski says without the liquor license, he intends to keep the restaurant open. “The restaurant will remain open, and we will adjust our hours accordingly. We’ll probably be opening for lunch, and maybe even breakfast.”
Defense Attorney David Mandell believes his client received an unfair hearing. “They were unwilling and unable to state their reasons for ruling against us, with respect to any of the evidence introduced other than a general statement that the city has met its burden. The fact is they didn’t address whether they proved any of the allegations in there other than the fact there was an employee who occasionally smoked pot off the premises during his breaks.”
Mandell and Kurzynski can pursue an appeal before the full city council February 10th, but they won’t be able to re-argue the case or present new evidence. Mandell says they are considering the options. “We haven’t decided yet, but we are considering that. We may also pursue an appeal in circuit court, where they will look at the actual law that we filed the motion to dismiss because the section they are proceeding under is unconstitutionally vague.”
Public Protection Committee Chairperson Lisa Rasmussen says the deliberations took over an hour because they had a lot to consider. “We talked about a lot of things. We talked about the evidence that we heard and saw. We talked about testimony that we heard. We talked about how that played into the operation of the bar and the licensee’s ability to control and properly run the premises, and all of those things weighed into our decision tonight.”
Rasmussen says the city has expectations of its license holders, and the committee overwhelmingly believes Paradox and Kurzynski didn’t meet them. “We expect that they will operate responsibly and that they will control their premise, and that they will behave in a responsible way, so that their premise is not only legal but safe, and we have a large volume of tavern owners and license holders in the city of Wausau that do that every day.”
The Paradox will remain open as is until the February 10th City Council decision.
Kurzynski faces criminal charges for trying to buy marijuana for resale. He is free on a $20,000 cash bond in that case. Kurzynski is also facing charges related to bank property loans and a construction lien.
