The council has been asked to consider changes to the city’s alcohol ordinance and to consider adopting an ordinance to allow for alcohol sales at certain events.
At Monday night’s work session, councilman at-large Mike Mingus asked the council to consider passing an ordinance similar to one recently enacted by the City of Hoschton.
The ordinance allows alcohol to be sold at selected outdoor events. Alcohol sales are allowed only at city sponsored events and are heavily controlled with location, vendors and hours of sales explicitly specified.
Mingus said he would like the city to enact a similar ordinance so that alcohol could be sold at events such as the city’s Lazy Daze festival.
“The fact of the matter is that we have citizens that would enjoy a beer or a glass of wine at an outdoor event,” he said.
Winder police chief Stanley Rodgers expressed some reservations, citing the 114 DUI arrests that resulted from recreational drinking at another recent outdoor event – a University of Georgia football game.
“Considering there were probably 50,000 drunks there, that’s probably not too bad,” Mingus quipped.
The city’s alcohol ordinance was a topic of discussion again at Tuesday night’s regular council meeting.
Patricia Morales asked council to change the city’s alcohol ordinance.
Morales and her husband, Luis Morales, want to open a bar in Winder. Morales said she and her husband would like to offer a place where people can relax close to home.
“It would be a place to have fun and dance the night away,” she said.
Morales also wants to host teen nights so that area youth will have a place to dance and socialize with friends.
Currently, the city’s alcohol ordinance does not allow for the establishment of a business that derives the majority of its revenue from alcohol sales.
Winder Mayor Chip Thompson said he and the council would take Morales’ request under advisement.
In other business, the council:
•recognized Roger Wilhelm for his success in disposing of surplus city property. By using GovDeals, the city has made over $100,000 in the past year from the sale of surplus vehicle.
•announced that the Lazy Daze festival received $13,000 in sponsorship fees. The festival cost the city just over $18,000.
•adopted an ordinance to create an identity theft prevention program for the city’s utilities.
•approved an intergovernmental agreement with Barrow County that will allow Barrow County to manage the city’s elections. Officials estimate the agreement will save the city over $3,000 per year.
•approved an event permit for the Winder-Barrow High School homecoming parade scheduled for October 17. The parade will begin at Russell Middle School and end at Winder-Barrow High School.
•denied an event permit for the Saint Ives Homeowners’ Association. The association had requested that the streets leading in and out of the subdivision be closed for a Halloween block party.
•approved an event permit for the Winder-Barrow High School Band run/walk. The event will be held November 15.
•approved a business registration application for Albert’s Bonding.
•approved listing six police vehicles as surplus for disposal at auction.
The council’s next meeting will be November 11. The work session will begin at 5 p.m. and be followed by the 6 p.m. regular council meeting.
#1.1--exactly.
#2--I agree.
The words "more alcohol" and "responsible" do not belong in the same sentence.
Finally, it should be obvious that anyone who has to be dragged to church would be a mess and sneaky. God does not force anyone to be converted. False religion does provide false hopes, though.