Gilford selectmen refuse to reduce cost of entertainment license

By Mike Mortensen

GILFORD – Selectmen have refused to reduce the cost of a Gilford nightspot's entertainment license because the board has denied the owner's request to have exotic entertainment.

Will Drew, owner of Kelsey's at the Grant, had requested that the $600 license fee be abated by an unspecified amount after the board on July 25 voted to give him a live entertainment license with everything but exotic dancing.

Before selectmen voted 3-0 Wednesday evening not to grant the abatement, Town Administrator Scott Dunn told the board that the license would cost $600 whether there was exotic entertainment or not.

The vote by selectmen last month not to allow exotic entertainment at Kelsey's followed days of hearings before the state Liquor Commission on whether Drew should lose his liquor license following an October 2011 drug raid at the former Mardi Gras North Cabaret in which seven people were arrested, including four dancers, one former dancer.

The Mardi Gras was not operated by Drew, but by a lessee of his property. But the operators were using Drew's liquor license.

The Liquor Commission after lengthy testimony voted to allow Drew to keep his license.

At the July 25 selectmen's meeting, Drew's attorney David Bownes indicated it was likely that Drew would challenge the no-exotic entertainment decision in court.

In other business:

-- Selectmen voted 2-1 to hire someone for 20 hours a week to clean the Gilford Library. The town put the position out to bid, and Dunn told the board that the three bids it received from private contractors would have provided negligible savings. Library Director Katherine Dormody said the Library Trustees preferred that the cleaning be done by a town employee because they felt that someone working for the town would take more personal interest in the job. Selectmen Chairman Gus Benavides, voted against the hiring because he felt that using outside contractors versus putting someone on the town payroll would offer other advantages even if there were no significant savings in costs.

– Without taking a formal vote, selectmen turned thumbs down on a request by Dustin Parent to conduct a bait-and-hunt for black bear on town-owned property off Swain Road. Dunn said the fear was that the bait would attract more bears to the area and therefore increase the likelihood that some bears would cause problems in residential areas. Dunn said the town's liability insurance carrier advised the bait-and-hunt was a bad idea.

– Selectman John O'Brien raised a concern about people setting off fireworks in Gunstock Acres. He was particularly worried because the lack of rain this summer raises the chances that fireworks might start a woods fire.

He noted that people in Gunstock Acres might think it's all right for them to set off fireworks when they see fireworks being shot off from Lakeshore Park. But Police Chief Kevin Keenan told the board that Lakeshore Park has obtained the necessary permits for its fireworks displays, and that the display is run by a licensed and insured fireworks show company.