By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer

ASHWAUBENON – After reaching the village’s quota under state law for Class B combination alcohol licenses, Ashwaubenon will get additional licenses from a neighboring municipality.

The Ashwaubenon village board approved a transfer agreement Feb. 23 to obtain three licenses from the Village of Hobart, as allowed under state law, with the fee for each license being $10,000.

Ashwaubenon Village Attorney Tony Wachewicz said the village received multiple inquiries from businesses interested in obtaining Class B licenses in Ashwaubenon.

“As a result, we reached out to the surrounding municipalities to see if any would be agreeable to transferring any of their reserve alcohol licenses,” he said.

Hobart had 16 of those licenses available, and its board agreed Feb. 2 to transfer three of them to Ashwaubenon for $10,000 each, the minimum price under state law.

Village President Mary Kardoskee thanked Hobart for agreeing to transfer the licenses, which would be paid for by the licensees at the time of their issuance.

“It’s really important for us to get some more liquor licenses, and we’ll see how our population goes up,” she said. “But I don’t know if it’s going to go up enough to warrant any more (licenses being authorized for Ashwaubenon).”

Village Manager Joel Gregozeski said Ashwaubenon would not have to pay in advance to transfer the licenses.

“We do not have to pay for all three at once,” he said. “We would pay based on the need that arises.”