A lengthy hearing on the College Perk last night exposed details of the coffeehouse’s precarious existence even as its owner said it will reopen within two months.
The offbeat Perk has remained closed since it suffered fire damage this summer, and founder Chris Gordon has continued to occupy the property even after it was sold in a foreclosure auction more than a year ago.
But Gordon said he will be able to reopen once he gets his insurance settlement from the fire, despite these obstacles and a possible challenge from the city council on the renewal of his liquor license.
Gordon came before the council last night after city staff told the council it should recommend to the county liquor board that it not renew the Perk’s license when it expires this spring.
City Public Services Director Bob Ryan recommended the council not renew the license because of Gordon’s repeated refusal to pay city fees after the council had also considered challenging his liquor license last year because of similar issues.
At the time, Gordon told the city it did not have the authority to charge him a liquor license fee. But he changed tack this year, saying the fee was legal but “unjust” and last night described his reluctance to pay $264 for a city liquor license as “civil disobedience” designed to get the issue into the public eye.
“I’d think during these trying financial times it would behoove the city to help local businesses instead of charge them unnecessary fees,” Gordon said, citing segregation and slavery as further examples of legal practices from the past that were not “morally right.”
Council members would not say whether they were swayed by Gordon’s testimony last night, but District 1 Councilman Patrick Wojahn said he found Gordon’s comparisons between the Perk’s situation and apartheid “insulting to the many people who were involved in real civil disobedience.”
Gordon has also declined to pay for the city to inspect his property as required in the city code, saying he disagrees with some of what they are enforcing.
The council also heard from Alireza Aliaskari – listed in property records as the owner of the College Perk property – who is involved in five separate lawsuits in county, state and federal courts trying to evict Gordon and tenants who rent bungalows and apartments on the Perk property.
Aliaskari recalled to the council his monthly mortgage payment on the Perk property to the cent ($5,619.50) that he has been paying since last January, and said he has also paid $24,000 in property taxes.
Gordon said he did not pay property taxes because although he disputes the legality of his foreclosure, state tax records list Daria Land Group LLC as the property owner. Robert Hillman, attorney for Aliaskari’s Daria, said Gordon made “misstatements” on his liquor license application last year when he called himself the property owner.
Gordon would not say how he plans to present his case to the county, citing strategic reasons.
Though more dramatic than most city business, last night’s hearing was tame in comparison to the council’s previous evaluation of the Perk’s liquor license, when Gordon brought in dozens of loyal customers to speak on his behalf.
City officials gave the hearing the aura of a courtroom trial, with Mayor Stephen Brayman and city attorney Suellen Ferguson asking formal “yes-or-no” questions of the witnesses, but Gordon seemed to enjoy the opportunity to make public comment.
Gordon joked with the council and appeared pleased when at one point he told a spectator he had “caught [him] giggling” during his presentation.
The council will discuss what it heard at last night’s hearing at its work session meeting in two weeks and will vote on whether to recommend that the county renew the Perk’s license later this month.
The county liquor board will make the final decision this spring.
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