Sharp County being wet

Hi Chuck & Mike,

I think there is interest in the latest news from Cherokee Village on this important matter. Area Wide News offers the following report:

New council prepares for a "wet" Cherokee Village


Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Kyle Mooty, Managing Editor


The Cherokee Village City Council had a different look at its first
meeting of 2013, with first-time members taking their seats on the
eight-person council. The four new aldermen jumped right into the fray
with several issues discussed at the Jan. 24 meeting.

The new members include Pamela Rowland, Bill Circle, Lee Covington and
Linda O'Neal. They join existing members Tom Thome, Curtis Bratcher,
Verna Mae Newman and Jerry Adams.

Among issues facing Cherokee Village this year will be the sale of
alcohol following the November vote to make Sharp County "wet."

An ordinance establishing regulations, requirements and restrictions on
the sale of alcoholic beverages was presented to the council.

City Attorney Jon Abele told the council that it could set fees for
permits and private licenses, charging up to half of what the state
(Alcohol Beverage Control) charges. The state charges $850 for package
store permits, $1,500 for private club permits and $350 for restaurant
permits.

As for sales tax, the city can only charge half of 1 percent of the
sales from beer and wine. Abele noted that all other details are
regulated by the state.

The only place that can sell liquor by the drink is a private club.

"There's not going to be a whole bunch of additional money just because the county is now wet," Abele said.

Mayor Lloyd Hefley said that no one had applied for a package store license. Those will not be available until July 1.

An amendment was made to the existing zoning code to allow drive-throughs for future liquor stores.

The ordinance passed unanimously after being read three times.

In other business:

It was presented to the council to eliminate a mandatory 10 percent be
left in the fire department's reserve funds because emergency funds come
from the general fund anyway.

"Our revenues have gone down," Fire Chief Mike Taylor said. "Hopefully,
they'll come back, but we don't have enough funds at it is."

City Clerk/Treasurer Lana Hamilton said meeting pay roll for the fire
department was tough enough without having to make sure 10 percent was
left in reserves.

Newman said that using the general fund for the fire department falls
under an emergency. "I would say that bad financial times (makes this)
an emergency."

It would have taken two-thirds of a council vote to eliminate the
reserve fund, and the council voted 4-4, with Bratcher, Covington,
O'Neal and Thome voting against the elimination.

Newman was chosen as the Mayor Pro Tem. She would serve as acting mayor
should Mayor Lloyd Hefley be unable to attend a meeting or be away from
the office for any reason.

The 2013 budget was tabled again due to more questions. "It's not a
balanced budget," said Alderman Thome. "We can't pass this anyway."

Alderman O'Neal attended an Arkansas Municipal League conference for new council members recently at Little Rock.

O'Neal noted that small cities serve special niches, and believe Cherokee Village has things that are indigenous to the area.

"We just need to bring everybody together," O'Neal said.

Alderman Adams added, "A great way to do that is to come to our planning and promotion committee meetings."

O'Neal also said the conference stressed that civility matters while
serving on the city council, and "We can agree to disagree."

Newman presented a plaque to Hefley where he was recognized as a
Certified Municipal Official from the Arkansas Municipal League for
completing 21 hours of certified municipal training.





© Copyright 2013, Area Wide News
Story URL: http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1936295.html

I think that it will prove to be an asset to Sharp County in many ways. We really have to plan forward to try and spark some interest in our community from tourists, and people looking for a place to work or retire.

It is a big win for Sharp County. You all know I have been a vocal supporter of going wet and have shown the hypocrisy of the "business" and money dealings of the dry side in how and where they were financed. It is an even better victory knowing those people in the dry leadership were easily defeated in the go around. Easy access to alcohol as an argument, please take no offense, but is not really an argument in 2013. There has been easy access to alcohol all across the US for generations. It shouldn't be an issue today and dry counties and towns are very few and far between anymore. I am very glad we have taken at least a tiny step to grow up a bit and move in at least the direction of wanting vibrancy and attracting more people to the area. Take a deep breath, if your issue is religion, I highly doubt any of us will be struck down in Cherokee Village by the man above because we live next door to a guy who has a newly acquired bottle of scotch in his cabinet that he bought out on the 4 lane. If it's violence, drunk driving etc, rest assured sleepy little Sharp County will not turn into Reno. Let it go. It's over. Wet won. It will be a benefit to the community in the long run.

Conventional1,

The local argument for going "wet" has bent over backwards to avoid taking up the social impact. The argument for wet has been a combination of economics -- local tax base and business interests -- and a reaction to local churches seeming to be a bit heavy handed on telling others how to live. While I support the voters right to decide this once and for all. I do wish there were more honesty about the impact of easy alcohol access in an area already rife with "rural" addiction issues.

I was wondering how everyone felt now that the wet-dry ballot has been cast. I heard 4 entities have applied for liquor licenses. I have mixed feelings about it. Personally, I like the area dry after witnessing teenagers in recovery and all the pain and dysfunction it causes in family lives. I suspect it will be a while before the full impact on the local economy is known