Pell City residents to vote on Sunday alcohol sales in August

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, May 21, 2015

As of today, May 21, Pell City has officially started the clock. Come August 11, residents will have the opportunity to decide if allowing alcohol to be sold on Sunday is right for the community.

Over the next three months, city officials will prepare and undertake the necessary steps to host the referendum, but the process in getting to this point required a five-year push and some help from both local leaders and lawmakers. One effective voice in the effort was The Citizens for Economic Development.

Blair Goodgame and her mother, Cindy, owners of Lakeside Landing in Pell City, founded the organization before the 2014 Alabama Legislative Session. Goodgame said the under the auspices of “turning growth into greatness for Pell City,” the group hosted meetings with community members and business owners and hired a governmental affairs firm to help draft a seven-day sales bill for this area.

The reason? To keep up, she said.

“Pell City is growing at such a rapid rate, and the only thing that we can do is to make sure it grows in the right direction,” Goodgame said. “This town should be striving for the highest possible quality of life — and part of that means access to good and services at convenient and accessible times and locations.”

Goodgame said she and other members of The Citizens for Economic Development believe Pell City is losing dollars to surrounding cities that have already instated seven-day sales.

“I don’t know about everyone else, but I am so tired of losing business to these other municipalities,” she said. “Why shouldn’t this town be able to benefit from the tax dollars and revenue we are losing to other prospering communities?”

Last year, legislators put a hold on the bill, but it returned to debate in 2015 sponsored by Sen. Jim McClendon. McClendon said he sponsored the bill after receiving formal requests from mayors and leaders in multiple St. Clair County cities, namely Riverside, Pell City, Moody, Ashville, Odenville, Springville, and Argo.

Gov. Robert Bentley signed the bill into law last month, creating an opportunity for elections in each of St. Clair County’s municipalities and in its unincorporated areas to determine if voters are in favor of the measure. Regarding these elections, each municipality is required to advertise for three weeks prior to opening the polls.

Members of the Pell City City Council approved the referendum during their regular meeting May 11. Council member Jay Jenkins and Terry Templin abstained from the vote to move forward, citing opposition to the measure.

“There are of course pros and cons, and I think this community will reflect that in its vote,” Mayor Joe Funderburg said previously. “But with the growth we’re seeing and our and proximity to attractions like Talladega and [Logan Martin Lake], people need the chance to at least decide what they want. To me, that’s what it’s all about.”

Blair Goodgame said her biggest fear was that voters would consider the referendum to be about alcohol when she said she believes it isn’t.

“It goes so much deeper than that,” she said. “It’s about bringing quality restaurants, recreational activities, shopping centers and so much more to our city — the kind of growth our community has been begging for. “

Polls will be open August 11 at the Pell City Civic Center from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Absentee ballots can be picked up at Pell City City Hall during regular office hours.