MUSKEGON, Mich. — A party bike business could soon be coming to downtown Muskegon, but there's still some red tape that city commissioners are working through.
The City Commission tabled the approval of the new business Koozie Kroozer Tuesday night, as they continue to work through logistics.
Business Owner Scott Sittser says the vehicle is still in the works.
"Some people have referred to them as pedal pubs or a pedal bar," he says. "It's fixing to be a great time."
The City Commission is still reviewing the verbiage of the ordinance because there are questions left to work out on whether the pedal pub can stop in city parks and how the party bike should be powered, either by motor or electric.
"If I get on the pedicab and go through McGraft Park and have my cocktail, can I get off and take it all around the park? Or do I stay on it?" City Commissioner Michael Ramsey asked at the meeting.
City Attorney John Schrier said at the meeting that the city manager will need to be consulted on some of these questions.
"We knew Grand Rapids has a comparable ordinance, and most of this is from Grand Rapids experience," he says. "Whether it fits with Muskegon, we'll find out."
The ordinance will be revisited at the next City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 24. City Commissioner Michael Ramsey and Mayor Stephen Gawron are feeling confident about it.
"I think it's a great idea," Ramsey said at the meeting. "I think it's fun but safety is super key, not just for residents but for (Sittser) as a business owner."
"I think it'll be a good add to the social district in the downtown area," Mayor Gawron says. "We'll see where it expands from there."
Sittser says he's ready to get this thing rolling. If he gets approval from the city, he expects it to take a week or two to be open for business.
"I'm very excited," he says. "This has been in the works for about a year, a year and three months...So let the good times flow and watch us go."
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