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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,November 18, 2013 Page 22 that staff's review was focused on City Code requirements, which had been met by the applicant and application completed, meeting all City requirements, and had been reviewed accordingly by City Attorney Gaughan. Mr. Miller advised that a substantial amount of additional information had been submitted to staff and the City Attorney earlier today from attorneys for the Min- nesota Licensed Beverage Association and applicant respectively. Mr. Miller ad- vised that the materials were bringing into question the legal and business practic- es of the applicant based on litigation in other states; and noted that another court case had been provided as a bench handout tonight, attached hereto and made a part hereof Given the volume of the documents provided from attorneys for both parties, Mr. Miller advised that an attempt to provide copies to the City Council had not been made at this time. Mr. Miller advised that most of those materials were alleged actions in other states; and note that staff did not consider them per- tinent to this City license, as the state had its own application process; therefore the materials had not been a consideration in bringing them forward tonight. Mr. Miller advised that there was some documentation provided in the staff report; and noted that staff and the City Attorney were available to answer any questions. Mr. Miller noted that representatives of Total Wine and More; and the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association were in attendance at tonight's meeting. City Attorney Gaughan concurred with staff that there were voluminous materials supplied by the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association and Total Wine. Based on his preliminary review, Mr. Gaughan opined that he found nothing that would lead him to believe that the transfer of the license should be denied at the local level, even though the State Licensing Board would need to concur. Given the stringent local compliance regulations, Mr. Gaughan opined that the City would have the discretion and a recourse if the applicant was found not to be abiding to those regulations after the license was issued. Total Wine & More Applicant Robert Lee Trone,Maryland Mr. Trone spoke to the business model he and his family had adhered to during their twenty-one (21) years in the alcoholic beverage business and their systemat- ic expansion of those business interests. In addressing why their business model had been successful, Mr. Trone opined that it was based on their experience and getting better at it; providing great employees, a great selection, and superb cus- tomer service, along with good pricing. Mr. Trone likened their business model to that of Target or Trader Joe's, opining that customers voted with their feet and their wallets. Mr. Trone noted that they currently have 98 stores in 15 states, with their central office located just outside Washington, D.C.; noting that they were just not locating in MN. Mr. Trone advise that the company attempted to provide great value to its consumers; and opined that they did a good job. Mr. Trone re- viewed some of the "giving back" the firm did to the community, including a gift when opening a new store; as well as annual donations in the millions to the community throughout the year. Mr. Trone assured the City Council and public