MENASHA, WI — Despite the complete absence of adult-entertainment establishments within the town’s borders, Menasha, WI officials on Monday unanimously passed an ordinance disallowing the sale of alcoholic beverages at any that might crop up in the future. The local newspaper called the move “another layer of protection against adult businesses.”Town fathers aren’t finished insulating their fiefdom from sin, either. According to the Post-Crescent, Town Chairman Arden Tews has recommended the town board require licenses for sexually oriented businesses and approach Winnebago County about increasing the setbacks in county zoning ordinances.
The latter suggestion arose from a situation created earlier this year when county officials decreased SOB setbacks from 2,000 feet to 600 feet in order to circumvent a legal challenge to the ordinance’s constitutionality. According to the Post-Crescent, former Town Supervisor Jay Schroeder feels the county went too far and the mistake should be corrected before some “juice bar strip joint” takes advantage of the loophole and opens smack-dab in the middle of town.
“It’s a matter of time before one comes here,” Schroeder told the Post-Crescent. “I don’t believe (the revised ordinance) is complete enough.”
In order to ensure adult establishment can’t open in Menasha at all, the town has asked Patrick Trueman — a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney and senior legal counsel for the conservative Family Research Council who now offers free consultation to non-profit groups and communities seeking protection from porn — to help draft a “comprehensive” ordinance aimed at adult entertainment.
“I think we all agree we don’t want that type of business in our town,” Tews told the Post-Crescent.
