State note says AMCO wrongly made Metlakatla gather a liquor petition

Alaska's Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office made the Metlakatla Indian Community collect a public support petition it did not need, an error state staff acknowledged in a note in the tribe's liquor license file.

The staff note blames an error in the state's AK-ACCIS licensing database. It says the petition was not required and should be disregarded.

The community filed five petition documents on Feb. 19, the same morning it submitted an application to move Bayside Booze and Burns, a package store on Breakwater Road. Darcy Booth signed the application.

State law requires such petitions from a majority or two-thirds of nearby permanent residents, depending on distance from a local government boundary. The application lists Metlakatla as having no local government, in the Unorganized Borough. The file does not explain why no petition was needed.

The community adopted its alcohol control ordinance in November 2021. It took effect in 2022, tying tribal licenses to state licensing.

The file does not say when the error was caught. It carries no response from the community.

The application remains under review.