Cape drops charge against carGO

Cape Girardeau city officials have agreed to drop a municipal charge filed against the carGO transportation company over the issue of whether a liquor license is required to deliver alcohol.

City manager Scott Meyer announced at Monday�s City Council meeting the city was dropping the charge of delivering alcohol without a license. He said the two sides plan to �work together� to develop a new ordinance to regulate such deliveries of alcohol.

The decision came after public criticism of the city�s effort to prosecute the business owner.

City staff previously said carGO needed a liquor license to deliver alcohol to customers of two liquor retailers. But James Stapleton, co-founder of carGO and a major investor along with local businessman Jeff Maurer, had argued carGO did not need a license under current city law.

Stapleton�s attorney filed a motion in municipal court last month to dismiss the case.

While he welcomed the decision to dismiss the charge, Stapleton said Tuesday he wishes city staff had been willing to sit down at the start to develop a workable solution instead of taking him to court.

�We would rather sit down and work with the city outside of the legal system,� he said.

Stapleton said the business incurred �significant� legal expenses as a result of the city�s actions.

He said there is �not a culture in city hall to sit down and work through issues� with businesses, particularly those providing services and using technology never envisioned when city laws were written.

Municipal Judge Teresa Bright-Pearson had set a hearing for Thursday on the motion from Stapleton�s attorney, Shannon Peters of St. Louis, seeking to have the case thrown out.

But Stapleton said that hearing won�t be held now that the city had agreed to dismiss the case.

He said Cape Girardeau City Council members informed him recently they expected the citation to be dismissed.

Stapleton said he insisted and city staff agreed to sit down with him to work on crafting a new ordinance.

He has said the current ordinance is �outdated� and doesn�t reflect today�s on-demand delivery services.

City ordinance requires a liquor license to brew, sell to customers as a retailer or distribute alcohol as a wholesaler. But Stapleton said carGO is not selling alcohol, only delivering it under an agreement with two retailers.

The transportation company delivers alcohol from Maurer�s Rhodes 101 convenience stores and from Primo Vino.

By clicking on the carGO mobile app, customers can order alcohol and have it delivered.

Stapleton said he was cited for not having a liquor license after one of his independent drivers delivered two bottles of alcohol, ordered by police chief Wes Blair, to a local hotel in May.

Two weeks later, the city cited Stapleton for delivering alcohol without a liquor license. Stapleton said the citation was issued after he had applied for a liquor license, even though he didn�t think he needed one, and only days before carGO received the city license.

Mayor Bob Fox said Tuesday, �There was a lot of community dissatisfaction with the way it went down.�

While the council did not make the decision to dismiss the charge, Fox said council members did offer advice to the city manager.

Fox said he supported the decision to dismiss the charge.

�I think mistakes were made on both sides,� he said. �You learn from your mistakes.�

Fox said city officials felt Stapleton had not reached out to the city government before deciding to begin delivering alcohol.

But Stapleton said he had reached out to city staff before starting alcohol deliveries and had paid a law firm to research the issue.

Fox said both sides now agree a liquor license of some sort is necessary.

City staff had earlier required carGO to obtain a $750 annual wholesaler license. But Stapleton said carGO is not a liquor wholesaler.

Stapleton said city staff have agreed to consider �a more reasonable fee� as part of any new licensing ordinance.

Fox said he expects the cost of any new license for such a delivery service would be considerably less than that paid by a wholesaler.

Once a new ordinance is in place, Stapleton said he will ask the city to refund the difference between the new licensing fee and the $750 he paid.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641