| By Neil Johnson, reporter/anchor, Big Radio |

If the Rock County Fair board goes through with its plans, beer will flow at the fair this year.

Janesville’s Alcohol License Advisory Commission voted 5-2 (Tuesday) to grant the fair board a license allowing it to run a fenced-in beer tent up to eight hours a day on some days of the fair.

Alcohol License Advisory Commission members Mark Bumpus and Paul Williams opposed issuing a license.

Bumpus says he does not like alcohol sales at a youth-centered 4-H fair.

Williams opposed beer at the fair on a technical point that the board didn’t have a full security plan before filing for a license. He also says the board should have briefed people in the residential neighborhood that surrounds the fairgrounds of a beer garden that will run six days.

Another city liquor board member, Dave Marshick pointed out organizers of smaller alcohol events, such as downtown wine walks, have never been required to brief neighbors prior to seeking an event liquor license.

Fair board vice president Burdick says the fair would sell beer by the can inside the beer garden, which would be staged on the south end of the fairgrounds, next to the grandstands and main entertainment stage.

The beer garden would run between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, which typically is when the fair books its premier music acts. On the weeknights of the fair, the beer garden would be open from 5 to 10 p.m., with hours running from 2 to 8 p.m.

Rock County’s fair has run more than 90 years. It’s now one of the few summer county fairs statewide that does not sell alcohol.

Fair board officials have told WCLO that it’s not a financial necessity to sell beer, but the board’s finding and fewer music acts that want to book dates at a fair that won’t allow alcohol sales to accompany shows.

Burdick told the liquor board that beer sales could have a “significant” financial impact. She says profits could help the fair lower its fees for entrants, and some money could be used toward improvements at the aging fairgrounds.

Fair manager Mary Check says similar county fairs she’s researched have hauled in $60,000 to $100,000 in revenue from beer sales.

Frank Beverage Group would supply the beer, Burdick says.

Liquor commission member George Brunner, a retired police chief, says he doesn’t like beer sales by the can, because he worries some people might “get unruly and throw cans around.”

But Brunner acknowledges the county and the fair board since 2018 have allowed alcohol sales at smaller, non-fair events hosted at the fairgrounds, and the city’s has not heard neighborhood complaints over those events.

Burdick says the board’s still hashing out details of “volunteer” security to monitor the beer garden. The Rock County Sheriff’s Office has police jurisdiction inside the fairgrounds, and Janesville police handles patrol duties in the vicinity outside the fairgrounds.

When asked by the liquor board if the Janesville police have concerns over a beer garden at the fair, Janesville Police Lt. Mark Ratzlaff said, “Not really, no.”

The Rock County Fair runs July 23 – 28.