BLOOMINGTON - A five-year contract to dispose of the brush collected by city workers was given to a new contractor Monday night by the Bloomington City Council. | 2nd west-side meeting called

Also, two liquor licenses under consideration by the council reignited debate among aldermen about the number of liquor licenses in downtown and more controls on the sale of single-serving alcohol.

The council voted unanimously to issue the city's tree branch and brush disposal contract to TKirk Brush of Bloomington. TKirk is owned by Tom Kirk, who also owns Kirk's C&D Recycling.

New to the brush disposal business, TKirk issued a bid of $8.06 per cubic yard while Twin City Wood Recycling issued a bid of $8.50.

The city budgeted about $249,000 a year for the program, which disposes of the brush produced by storms and residents' trimming.

Guy Fraker, the attorney representing Twin City, asked the council to reconsider the bid because that firm has been in the brush disposal business longer.

In unrelated business, Nageswara Rao Ravi, owner of Bloom Fuel, 1802 S. Morris Ave., asked the council to remove the license stipulation banning it from selling single-serving containers of alcohol. He noted a nearby convenience store can sell single-serving containers.

The commission recommended the change to the council. But Ward 7 Alderman Steven Purcell said he wanted to know why more hasn't been done to address the issue of single-serving sales.

Mayor Steve Stockton, who also is chairman of the liquor commission, said the issue has stalled because the liquor commission and the council are split on the issue. Previously, the liquor commission discussed possible regulations on the sale of containers less than 40 ounces but could not come up with a proposal it believed was uniform and fair.

"If you want to revisit it, give us specific direction, please don't send us on another kamikaze mission to look at this over and over again," said Rich Buchanan, one of the city's liquor commissioners.

The council approved the license change 8-1 with Purcell voting against.

A request by Flingers Pizza Co., 608 N. Main St., for a restaurant liquor license also raised the issue of the number of liquor licenses in downtown, specifically on the north end of Main Street. Ward 4 Alderman Judy Stearns pointed out this would be the 11th liquor license within a two-block area.

Ward 6 Alderman Karen Schmidt, whose ward includes the area, said she would oppose the license if it was a request for a tavern license.

A restaurant license requires most of the business's sales to come from food, but a tavern license has no food requirement.

The council issued the license to Flingers by a vote of 6-1 with two abstaining. Purcell voted against the license while Stearns and Ward 9 Alderman Jim Fruin abstained. Flingers is owned by Fruin's sons.