Fort Oglethorpe says yes to liquor by the drink
Referendum permitting liquor sales in
city eateries passes 511-424
03/15/05
Chris Zelk
Despite a light turnout at the polls a majority of Fort Oglethorpe voters approved the sale of liquor by the drink in the city’s March 15 special election.
In unofficial final election results, which include 303 early votes and 16 absentee ballots, only 935, or 20 percent, of the city’s 4,667 registered voters cast ballots in the referendum, which was approved by the City Council in January.
To pass the measure, 511 voters, or 55 percent, cast ballots in favor of liquor by the drink, while 424, or 45 percent, voted against.
Although church groups and others actively protested the city’s previous liquor-by-the-drink referendum in November 2000, city poll official Eloise Hixon said that the election was conducted without incident.
Residents defeated the previous referendum 858-597.
Mayor Judd Burkhart said the measure’s passage should help the city’s economic development efforts. He said a major hotel and several upscale restaurant chains have recently expressed interest in Fort Oglethorpe locations, and the ability to sell liquor will be helpful in drawing them to the city.
“I think the city is getting ready to explode in progress,” he said. “On Battlefield Parkway we’ve got an even playing field now.”
Voters in Ringgold, which recently annexed Battlefield Parkway land near Fort Oglethorpe city limits, approved liquor by the drink in March 2000.
"I think it’s primarily an issue of finances. I’d be more concerned about the welfare of people."
-- Pastor Joe Brown, Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene
Following the City Council’s unanimous vote in March 2002 to amend Fort Oglethorpe’s malt beverage ordinance to allow the sale of beer and wine in restaurants, Logan’s Roadhouse and O’Charley’s opened locations along Battlefield Parkway.
O’Charley’s spokeswoman Meg Bayless said the restaurant, which serves beer and wine, will apply for a liquor license.
“We came into the city without that liquor license, so we chose Fort Oglethorpe because the community’s a great fit for our concept,” she said. “We’re very happy being in that community, but we will definitely be applying for a liquor license to be in line with the majority of our stores in Atlanta and Chattanooga.”
North Georgia Christian School Principal Jerry Jones said that he wasn’t surprised by the election’s outcome.
“The general population’s overall attitude about almost anything is pretty liberal now,” he said. “I’m a teetotaler and am pretty much opposed to the use of alcoholic beverages. It’s not a personal issue with somebody else or if they want to sell it, but I’m opposed to the use of it.”
Pastor Joe Brown of Battlefield Parkway Church of the Nazarene chalks the vote’s success up to the lure of economic benefits and not necessarily the public’s best interest.
“Of course, I’m not for it,” he said. “I think it’s primarily an issue of finances. I’d be more concerned about the welfare of people.”
State Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said that the will of the people should be the deciding factor behind measures like liquor by the drink.
“This is a local decision for local people in their community, and I support that ability for them to decide themselves, not for big brother like the state or the federal government to make those decisions,” he said.
Restaurants wishing to add liquor to their menus must comply with the same requirements outlined in the city’s malt beverage ordinance permitting beer and wine sales: after obtaining a city liquor license each establishment must seat at least 125 patrons and derive at least 80 percent of gross receipts from food sales.
Restaurants will be eligible to apply for the licenses in about 40-55 days, officials said.
Meanwhile, the city will add a section detailing its liquor policies to the malt beverage ordinance and the City Council will determine a fee for the licenses prior to the third reading of the amended ordinance.
The Fort Oglethorpe Beverage Commission will issue the licenses.
Editor Kevin Cummings contributed to this story.
The Catoosa County News
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