Von Lee alcohol permit decision delayed

The future of the Von Lee Theater is still undecided after a meeting to determine whether the theater will receive an alcohol permit.\nThe Monroe County Alcohol Beverage Board met Wednesday to address the issue concerning the former movie house, but no decision was made due to a technicality. \nIn order to serve alcohol Monday through Sunday in Indiana, a restaurant or bar must apply for two different permits -- one which permits liquor sales Monday through Saturday and another to serve on Sunday. Property owners, Artemis LLC and Caam LLC, did not include a request for Sunday sales in their original application. A continuance has been scheduled for property owners to put both applications in order. The next hearing is scheduled at the board's next meeting Jan. 7.\nBut the board, which has dealt with the permit from the beginning, may no longer be in office because a new term will begin in January. IU Dean of Students Richard McKaig said current members presume they will be reappointed. The Bloomington mayor, the Monroe County Council and the three county commissioners each appoint a member to the board.\nChris Sturbaum, organizer of the Save the Von Lee committee and city councilman-elect, said making the Von Lee into a bar and restaurant will have a negative effect on the University because of its location near the Sample Gates. He said the small businesses in the area will be strained and the character of Kirkwood Avenue will be harmed by the conversion of a beloved landmark into a bar. Sturbaum, who attended the meeting, said the outcome looks good for his argument.\nDuane O'Neal, the lawyer representing the property owner and the applicant for the liquor license, said he is shocked IU is fighting against the alcohol permit. He said he has not been in contact with any University official and doesn't know if it is a single person or the University as a whole against the permit. O'Neal said he would be surprised if it is the University as a whole.\n"If this is an issue of serving alcohol, there are several other establishments on Kirkwood that sell alcohol and we have received support from," O'Neal said. "Nice restaurants and bars create a synergy that is an attraction that will benefit all the commercial establishments in the downtown Bloomington area." \nLynn Coyne, IU director of real estate and economic development, said there are two reasons why IU is against the Von Lee receiving a liquor license.\n"As policy matter we do not need an additional outlet contributing to the consumption of alcohol beverages," Coyne said. "The consumption of alcohol beverages and abuse of alcohol is a significant problem for the community and the students of IU. Second, the location is inappropriate because it is the symbolic entry to the campus at the Sample Gates." \nBruce Huot, a member of the Monroe County Alcohol Beverage Board, said he has higher expectations for the property rather than a bar or restaurant. Huot said Bloomington can find another use for the space that sits in front of the Sample Gates. \nIf the Monroe County Alcohol Beverage Board does rule that the Von Lee should receive a liquor permit, the decision goes to the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for Indiana in Indianapolis. \nMcKaig said he knows people are concerned about the preservation of the site as a historic landmark. \n"I have received over 30 e-mails and phone calls from people who are concerned about the destruction of a landmark and concerned that another bar is going in on Kirkwood," he said. \nSturbaum said he has found significant research that outlets for alcohol close to college campuses contribute to an increase in the incidents of alcohol abuse and the deterioration of neighborhoods. \nO'Neal said he understands the need to preserve the landmark, but his clients have spent several hundred thousand dollars to acquire the property and will dedicate several hundred thousand more to renovate. He said investors will contribute more than $1 million in the property before the first patron walks in the door. He said a new business will be a significant economic benefit to Bloomington.\n"By the same token, we are sensitive that the Von Lee has a tradition even though that tradition as a movie theatre cannot continue because of both economic reasons and legal restrictions," O'Neal said. "Surely no one would argue that the Von Lee should remain vacant as it has for the last four or five years." \n-- Contact staff writer Mike Malik at mjmalik@indiana.edu.