Published: August 04, 2008 09:13 pm            

Sunday sales, distilled spirits on November ballot in Whitfield

First Dalton, then Varnell, now Whitfield County?

The Whitfield County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 Monday night to place a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot asking county voters whether certain establishments — mostly restaurants and hotels — should be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink on Sunday.

Commissioners also voted 3-0 to place a referendum on the same ballot asking whether restaurants and hotels in the county should be allowed to sell distilled spirits by the drink. The county already allows the sale of beer and wine by the drink.

“The alcohol question, as much as we’re elected to use our good judgment and wisdom, that’s such a volatile emotional issue in many cases that I’m glad the law is written that the community must decide its direction,” commission chairman Brian Anderson said.

Commissioner Mike Cowan did not vote and Anderson votes only to break ties. Although Cowan did not oppose placing both measures on the ballot, he promised in 2006 only to vote for them once while he is in office.

While there have been several failed attempts to bring Sunday alcohol sales to the county, Dalton and Varnell have already accepted it. In November 2006, city of Dalton voters approved a referendum to allow the sale of alcohol by the drink in restaurants on Sunday. Last month, the Sunday sale of alcohol by the drink in Varnell passed by a single vote, while voters also passed a measure to allow the sale of distilled spirits by the drink. The sale of beer and wine by the drink has been allowed in Varnell since January.

In November 2006, county voters nixed a referendum that would have legalized the sale of distilled sprints by the drink from Monday through Saturday, but not on Sunday.

Mark Fidler, a member of the Varnell City Council, told commissioners two or three restaurant developers have already expressed interest in locating to the city. He said commissioners should show publicly their support for the referendums. The commission as a body is not allowed by state law to campaign for a referendum.

“This is a referendum on growth,” Fidler said. “Unfortunately, some people try to address it as a moral question, which it is not.”

Anderson said there was no one organized group that asked for the alcohol referendums, but said there have been “ongoing requests” from different people in the county. He declined to say who.

Some national chain restaurants are reluctant to come to Whitfield County because liquor by the drink and Sunday sales are not allowed, said commissioner Randy Waskul. He said diners travel to Calhoun, Dalton or Ringgold to “enjoy an adult beverage” with their meal.

“We’re driving business out of the community in my eyes,” Waskul said.

Commissioner Greg Jones said he keeps hearing complaints about property taxes being too high and said these referendums would help take the “burden off the homeowners” by introducing new sources of revenue.

The Sunday alcohol sales referendum would allow alcoholic drinks to be served in the county from 12:30 p.m. to midnight in establishments that have at least 50 percent of their total gross sales from prepared food or have at least 50 percent of their total gross sales from room rentals for overnight lodging.

The liquor by the drink referendum would allow distilled spirits — alcoholic drinks other than beer and wine — to be served in the county.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.