Beer and wine sales on November ballot

By Randy Grider
randy@casscountynow.com

Voters in Atlanta will decide whether off-premise beer and wine can be sold within the city limits when they go to the polls Nov. 8.
The City Council approved an ordinance accepting a petition to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages and ordered a local option election for alcohol sales.  
“This is not that you are supporting it or agreeing to it,” City Manager David Cockrell said. “But your citizens have petitioned you to put an ordinance on the ballot in November. They were required to receive 388 signatures. We have certified 444 signatures.”
The last time Atlanta had a local option on alcohol sales was May of 2015. It failed by a vote of 289-244 with only a 5-percent voter turnout. A similar measure to legalize beer and wine sales in Queen City also failed by 15 votes at that time.
The city council also approved a special city election on Nov. 8 to fill the District 3 council seat. The seat is currently occupied by Councilman Randy Pennington, who was recently appointed to fill the position until a special election was held following the death of longtime councilman James Roy “J.R.” O’Kelley in May.

In other business, the council:
* Approved a professional service agreement between the city and CPA Tara Houck for preparation of basic financial statements.
* Heard capital requests from Police Chief Jay Womack and Fire Chief Robin Betts for consideration and discussion pertaining to the fiscal year2016-17 operating budget.