Beaver Dam mayor issues executive order to assist restaurants in reopening

In an effort to help the restaurants of Beaver Dam comply with the guidelines for reopening, Mayor Paul Sandefur issued an executive order last week.

In the order, Sandefur is allowing restaurants and taverns/microbreweries to place tables, chairs and other items on city sidewalks, the public way and adjacent private property during the current COVID-19 state of emergency.

“(Restaurants) have been pretty hard hit through all this. There are a lot of them here in town. This is something I knew we could do to help” Sandefur said.

The order is in response to the state’s guidelines for reopening restaurants as part of Gov. Andy Beshear’s Healthy at Work initiative. Restaurants were allowed to open last Friday at 33% capacity but are allowed unlimited outdoor dining as long as tables are placed to allow for social distancing.

“When the governor said restaurants could have unlimited seating outside as long as they kept a distance, we thought that was the best thing to do,” Sandefur said of the executive order.

Sandefur said that the private property wording in the order has caused some confusion. He said that the businesses’ permits typically only cover the buildings that the restaurants are in as many are in rented property. The order would provide for them to do business on private property. For example, he said, under the executive order the restaurant’s permits allow for owners to set up tents in their parking lot if they wanted.

“We wanted everyone to have the opportunity to do this if they chose to,” the mayor said.

According to the executive order, the city superintendent is authorized and directed to develop guidelines and regulations related to allowing the placement of tables, chairs and other items.

The alley running from Main Street in Beaver Dam between Smith House Florist and Dale’s Tax Service will be closed on Friday evenings, Saturday afternoon and evenings and Sunday afternoons, until further notice to assist a local restaurant to provide outdoor seating during this time of restrictions.

Also, West Second Street in Beaver Dam is now a one-way from Main Street to Broad Street. This change is being done for safety reasons and is part of the city’s redevelopment plan that began several years ago, Sandefur said.

Sandefur said the one-way on Second Street wasn’t part of the initial plan.

“After Beef O’Brady’s and other businesses opened downtown causing traffic to pick up, it made it difficult to pull out from Second Street if you are turning left going north.”

The project will add additional parking to assist businesses and will provide a plaza area to accommodate events such as Sounds on Second, the Strawberry Festival and other activities. As the redevelopment plan proceeds, seating and other amenities will be added.