When we started giving opinions that were not what the council wanted to hear, that’s when we got into trouble and were told we weren’t needed, he said.

Robinson protested in January against Mills’ proposal to disband the LAB, but said that will not get in the way of working with Mills now that Mills sits on the board.

I will work with anybody, Robinson said. I really don’t know why he’s on the board, but he’s welcome.

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Robinson said there will probably be disagreement among the members, but the disagreement would strengthen the board.

Disagreement in a free society is one of America’s great strengths, he said.

Mike Nolan, the former student LAB member who also protested Mills’ proposal, said Mills will most likely work very hard for the board because he worked so hard as a councilman.

Nolan said the board is important to the city because it is one of the only ways the city can get input from the community about liquor issues.

I was getting my input and opinions from 20,000 people the students, Nolan said.

That is the purpose of LAB and it is not useless one, Nolan said.

Mills said the board needs to know how the city’s liquor commission does its job and he is the person to show them.

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I thought the board had become stale doing just renewals (of liquor licenses), Mills said. The council was doing the same thing. It was redundant.

Mills also said the board had become a political sounding board for certain individuals, but would not elaborate on the identity of those individuals.

Yes, I tried to get rid of it (the LAB), he said.

But if the board can be a contributing group in the community, it will be a great help to the council.