Liquor licenses come and liquor licenses go, but the May 29 meeting of the Bristol Town Council came with good news for one local restaurant, Qhali, that was approved for a Class B license. Sidewalk and sidewalk alcohol use licenses were approved wholesale for the season with the exception of The Nest, which is currently subject to a 3-month review.

The Northeast Golf Company, operators of the Bristol Golf Park, also took one step closer to receiving a sought-after license.

The process for the Golf Park is complicated by the fact that it has been some time since Bristol offered a Class C liquor license — a license that allows an establishment to serve alcohol in the absence of food made on the premises. However, Northeast Golf principal Robert McNeil successfully asserted that the Golf Park is a unique establishment with a unique set of circumstances. With operations run from a “golf hut” without access to running water or public sewer, there is no way for them to comply with the requirements of a Class B liquor license.

“Without (a license), this is probably not a viable operation,” said O’Neil in April, making the point that short of building a kitchen on the golf course, they cannot make food to order, while noting that they had already lost events because of their inability to serve alcohol directly on the course.

Working with the Town Solicitor, Town Administrator Steven Contente developed some guidelines that will give the Golf Park what they need without creating a precedent that will allow for open season on Class C licenses. They include offering canned beverages, and prepackaged meals, cooked off-premises; the Class C license would only be made available to an establishment that is open less than 12 months a year, is housed in a structure inconsistent with food prep, has a fundamental inability to be relocated, and has a primary offering unrelated to beverage service.

It was also determined that there had to be an unreasonable financial burden with compliance to the Class B license, and there would be no sales outside the hours of the Golf Club’s operation.

Though he stated his remaining reluctance, Council Chairman Nathan Calouro offered his approval on the condition that the Council hold a 3-month review and an additional review in the middle of next season.

The full Council approved a first reading and will hold a second reading and public hearing at their next meeting.

Summer events on the calendar
Summer favorites got approval for dancing and entertainment licenses, including PorchFest, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 15, and HarborFest, on Saturday, Aug. 17. According to Harbormaster Gregg Marsili, in addition to highlights like the raw bar and stuffie contest, the little neck boil and steak fry, there will be grilled shrimp available this year.

As always, live music will play all day and the Blessing of the Fleet will be held at 1 p.m. Tickets will be sold online soon at www.bristolharborfest.com; Marsili cautions purchasers to not confuse our HarborFest with the one in Bristol, England. Also, the Orange Crate Derby, which was postponed due to a conflict with a St. Elizabeth Church feast, was rescheduled for June 16.

The poll is in and it’s a landslide win!
Bristol needs new Christmas lights, but before making such a significant purchase, this spring the town strung two trees on lower State Street, one in front of The Nest and the other in front of the Hotpoint Emporium. For several weeks, residents had the opportunity to view the lights and go to the town website to vote.

This one wasn’t even close — the warm lights in front of the Hotpoint, uphill and closer to Hope Street, received 231 votes, or 77%, compared to the cool lights in front of The Nest, which received 69 votes, of 23% of the total. “How wonderful is this, that 300 residents took the time to weigh in?” said Calouro, while Contente seemed pleased that the vote wasn’t even close. “I did not want to get that one wrong,” he laughed.

In other news…

• The Council approved a request by Fire Chief Michael DeMello to use opioid settlement funds to purchase four ventilators for each of the Town’s ambulances
• It’s going to cost a little more to get buried at North Burial Ground as the the Cemetery Commission requested and was granted permission to raise the rates
• Discussion of sewer infrastructure opened the door for a reminder to residents to please stop with the illegal sump pump hookups, and the town means that so sincerely that they will even pay $1,000 of your plumbing costs to disconnect.
• Stone Harbour Residents Association President Howard Sutton voiced objections on the part of the residents of Stone Harbour to a proposed pool boat to be sited at the Thames Street Landing and operated by the Bristol Harbor Inn. (Check out the full story here).
• Black Earth Composting made a presentation at the behest of Councilor Tim Sweeney, suggesting that town-wide composting could help reduce rising tipping fees (an issue that will become even more critical as the Central Landfill is slated to be closed sometime after 2034.)
• Fr. Jonathan DeFelice, who raised objections last year to the maroon, white, and robin’s egg blue stripe on the parade route, asked the Council to consider talking to the state DOT about the unambiguity of the hues in the American flag — and offered his services as an emissary