Franklin Township holds public hearing on GetGo liquor license
FRANKLIN TWP -- The township’s board of supervisors held a public hearing Monday evening, Dec. 18, regarding a local GetGo convenience store's request for a liquor license.
The GetGo is under construction on New Castle Road, directly across from both a Sunoco and a Kawasaki motorcycle dealership.
GetGo is attempting to acquire an existing liquor license from an establishment located on MacKenzie Way in Cranberry Township. As of Monday night, the status of the license is listed as “safekeeping,” meaning operations at the licensee have ceased.
Giant Eagle, GetGo’s parent company, still needs approval from the Franklin Township board to begin the process of transferring the license.
Representing Giant Eagle/GetGo at the public hearing was Ellen Freeman of the law firm Flaherty & O’Hara, a Pittsburgh-based firm specializing in liquor law. Freeman said GetGo, if granted the license, would make sure its patrons consume liquor responsibly.
This includes limiting the consumption of alcohol to the seating area, closely monitoring those who drink on the premises, and instituting a strict two-drink limit.
“Anyone who's walking through the store with an open container is going against Giant Eagle/GetGo policies, and they will be asked to go to the seating area,” Freeman said. “They're not interested in being a bar or a sit-down restaurant. Their practice is mainly to-go.”
No decision will be made until Franklin Township’s board meets again on Jan. 2.
Only one member of the public, Joan Courtney, spoke at the public hearing. She argued Franklin Township has enough liquor establishments.
“We have two bars and a beer distributor within 2 miles,” Courtney said. “I don’t think our township needs any more access to alcohol.”
The board of supervisors discouraged residents from speaking on anything about the GetGo unrelated to the liquor license.
However, the regular monthly board meeting, held immediately following the public hearing, had a public comment portion. Several residents took that opportunity to voice frustration and concern over the GetGo’s potential impact on traffic.
“There’s a question about how close the curbs are on Eagle Mill Road, which is a township road,” said board chairman Herman Bauer. “There’s been a continual traffic problem there. During rush hour they’ll be backed up on either side of Route 422.”
Residents expressed frustration about traffic backups caused by the construction, and feared the backups would only get worse once the GetGo opens.
“It’s backed up a mile, and they’re not even open yet. When they were doing that little construction thing there to put the curb in, it was backed up for miles,” said Matt Thomas. “I'm all for free business and free commerce, but the traffic study should have been done the right way. And now we, traveling everywhere, have to pay for it.”
The lightly attended meeting was held at The Atrium event hall in Prospect, as opposed to the Franklin Township municipal building to accommodate what was expected to be a big crowd.
