Officials, clubs pan plan to rework beer garden

Port Washington aldermen last week postponed action on a proposal to restructure the summer beer gardens amid concerns that there is not enough buy-in from the nonprofit groups that have sponsored the events and questions about how the change will be implemented.

“Right now I think there are too many details that are missing,” Ald. Deb Postl said. “I am concerned about these groups losing their individuality.”

Ald. John Sigwart concurred, adding the proposed changes may benefit small groups but not the larger civic organizations. 

“Apparently the beer gardens are becoming more generic,” he said, adding the proposed changes limits the involvement of organizations to staffing the gardens.

Although he supports the concept of a reorganization, Sigwart said “I don’t think it’s quite ready for prime time.”

“It seems to not be a cooperative plan,” Ald. Dan Benning said, noting many of the civic groups have spoken against the plan. “I think we’re going to take something that is a benefit and it’s going to fall apart.”

Benning said a cost-sharing plan that’s part of the proposal is concerning, especially since each group hosting the gardens has a different focus.

Ald. Mike Gasper said that while he would like to see the city try the plan for a year, he has concerns over the cost-sharing split and the fact that beer gardens continue into October, when the weather often isn’t conducive to outdoor events. 

The proposal was tabled, with aldermen set to once again consider the beer garden reorganization at their Tuesday, March 16, meeting.

For the past seven years, civic groups have hosted beer gardens following rules set by the beer garden committee established by the Parks and Recreation Department.

But the department has taken on a greater role, and last year spent between $10,000 and $15,000 in staff time and materials on the events, City Administrator Tony Brown said.

Recreation Director Kiley Schulte said the beer gardens aren’t sustainable as they are currently being run, and two weeks ago she proposed reorganizing the beer gardens with the Friends of Parks and Recreation organizing the events.

Under her proposal, the Friends will handle many of the organizational activities, such as purchasing insurance, handling permits, buying beverages and foods with input from the individual organizations and booking entertainment.

The civic groups would staff each beer garden, with a member of the Friends group overseeing each event.

To minimize the risk to organizations of such things as bad weather and being assigned less popular dates, and increase the sustainability of the beer gardens, profits from each event would be pooled, she said.

At the end of the season, the Friends would receive half the profits and the remainder of the money would be split among the civic groups,

Schulte said each group will have a say in the food and beverages served and the entertainment that is offered.

By working through the Friends, she said, there will be economies of scale that will cut the cost of each event and, if the Friends group is able to solicit enough sponsorships, eliminate much of the cost of each beer garden.

For the second consecutive meeting, representatives of several of the civic groups that operate beer gardens spoke against the proposal, saying the plan will take away from the individual touches each group brings to beer garden events and a cost-sharing plan will be counterproductive.

“It seems to disincentivize an organization handling a beer garden. It (organizing and hosting the event) is not overwhelming for us,” Gene Boyer, secretary-treasurer of the Port Washington-Saukville Rotary Club, said.

Christine Brickner of Be3 told aldermen that her group depends on having a beer garden on the same weekend each year and holding its Land Regatta run in conjunction with it.

“We rely on the weekend, and we rely on that weekend every year,” she said. “I need to be able to control all my programs.”

While there may be some issues with the beer gardens, Brickner added, “this proposal just bandages the problem rather than fixes it.”

The one aspect of the beer garden plan that is a plus is that the Friends group would provide insurance for the event, Dave Mueller, who was representing both the Port Lions Club and Port Food Pantry, said.

“That was our No. 1 obstacle,” he said.

But, he said, the city needs to avoid a plan that will create beer gardens that are too much alike.

“Because it’s hosted by different groups is what makes it unique,” he said.

And the proposed 50% split of the profits is too much, he said.

“I don’t mind giving some back, but 50% really is a disincentive,” Mueller said.

Thom Evans of the Stars and Stripes Legacy Group agreed, saying, “For us, that’s not going to happen.”

Mueller also questioned whether every cent raised at the events would be split, including such things as the tip jars filled by people who support the individual group hosting the weekly events.