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Among the topics discussed regarding potential package stores are the location and the hours of operation/days of the week they should be able to operate.
The Dahlonega City Council is closer to an official distilled spirits ordinance for the city.
But before that happens there are plenty of rules to discuss.
The council met this week to do just that as their February 21 Work Session included an extensive discussion on the memorandums regarding distilled spirits package stores.
One of the more heated topics was the ultimate location of such a store in Dahlonega.
“I think there are some areas where we would prefer a package store to be located, but I’d like the council to give their opinion,” said Mayor JoAnne Taylor.
City council member Johnny Ariemma, who owns a hotel just off the square, pushed for the possibility of a Central Business District (CBD) zoning, while other members were settled on B-2, Highway Business District.
“My hotel’s in the commercial business district,” he said. … Or across from the 1888 House, that's CBD, and that’s a potential location for [the package store]. So why wouldn't we consider CBD?”
Council member Ryan Reagin concurred.
“I agree with Johnny,” he said. “… As long as it’s commercial property, it makes sense to me.”
However, council member Roman Gaddis didn’t agree with the idea.
“I think if your CBD is just on the outskirts of B-3, which is our downtown, you start putting that in the CBD. You’re now encroaching into the B-3 district, which is the historic district…my personal opinion is I don’t want to see package stores in that commercial business district,” he said.
“I look at the lack of inventory right now, and if you exclude CBD, you are taking away another big chunk of the real estate,” Ariemma said in response.
Taylor reminded the council that later changes could be made.
“This exercise is just for the purpose of getting an ordinance put together that you all can vote on,” she said.
SUNDAY SALES?
The conversation also segued into hours of operation. The draft ordinance has the potential hours as 8 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with the point of discussion being whether to open on Sundays, with hours of 12:30 pm. to 11:30 p.m.
Reagin was the first to chime in.
“The brunch bill passed overwhelmingly, so people can get a cocktail with brunch,” he said. “That wasn’t an issue. People have been drinking on Sundays for a long time. I don’t see a difference between going to the liquor store on Sunday and going to Pueblo’s or any of our fine establishments for a Bloody Mary or mimosa at 11:30.”
Reagin was not only in favor of opening on Sundays, but that the hours shouldn’t be restricted.
“My proposal is it can stay open for as much as this owner would like,” he said. “…I think that’s what the people want.”
Approximately 30% of the population voted on the referendum, with 80% of voters in support of a possible package store.
Other council members disagreed with Reagin’s stance.
“We live in a Christian environment in Dahlonega,” said Ariemma. “…I would say that I’m not ready to say that the Sunday sales are really necessary. The store should be closed on Sunday as kind of a compromise to the community.”
Gaddis agreed.
“I would prefer not to have Sunday sales, if we find that in six months or a year we need to add it, then we can easily come back and have that conversation again,” he said.
“I lean towards closing on Sunday, just because of the people we represent,” said Council member Ron Larson.
LOTTO LESSONS
The council also discussed what items would be sold in the store, in addition to distilled spirits.
The current draft prohibits certain services, such as money order sales and check cashing. Sales of lottery games or tickets, cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, alternative nicotine products, vapor products, snuff, cigarette papers and lighters and matches are also prohibited, along with amusement machines, electronic game machines or gaming devices.
The optional language would remain largely the same, except the sales of lottery games/tickets, tobacco products, lighters and match sales are allowed.
Gaddis, who once worked at a package store, warned the council about allowing too much to be sold.
“It was a higher-end package store in 1996…There were some things that we didn’t do when I started working there: we didn’t sell lottery tickets, we didn’t sell tobacco…about halfway through my time there, there was a noticeable difference in the quality of the store once we started doing that,” he said.
Other members were mostly in agreement, except for the sale of lottery tickets.
“I think I’m really pushing towards the lotto tickets,” said Ariemma. “They’re sold everywhere…that brings in about 5% of revenue, and that’s an absolute easy sale because everybody does it. I’m against the gaming machines…but I think the lottery itself would be acceptable.”
Reagin agreed.
“I think [the lottery] helps bring in money, and the HOPE scholarship,” he said. “…I think that’s a convenient thing. I don’t really care about the tobacco products…I think cigars kind of go hand in hand. We have a ton of weddings up here, and if a groom wants to buy his groomsmen a nice bottle of liquor, he might want to buy them a cigar as well.”
Larson had a mixed opinion on the matter.
“The lottery games I side more with Roman on,” said Larson. “…Although Johnny makes a good point. Besides selling liquor, it’s an opportunity for them to make some money.”
LIMITED SUPPLIERS
Since alcohol licenses will be limited, the council debated how many would be awarded initially.
“Should the first licensing period be separated into two licensing cycles? And what that means is, we issue a license and then six months later or whatever time period [the council decides] to open up for issuing a second license,” Taylor said.
“[Splitting up the cycles] was suggested to me by a city attorney,” said City Attorney Doug Parks. “… They had to do this because…it was quite a competition for the potential licensees because they had to compete for the same property.”
Ariemma agreed with the idea of splitting the issuance of the licenses.
“I’m fine with breaking them up,” he said.
However how the licenses will be awarded is still up in the air.
“We haven’t decided what method we’re using,” said Taylor. “Other than…a lottery, not just a first come first serve.”
The amount of licenses will be determined by the population level of the city.
“There won’t be a third license allowed until we have an increase in population to the level of 13,500. Right now, the city has about 7,500,” Larson explained. “Additional licenses will be issued for every 3,500 person increase.”
There has been a relatively high interest level from the public on the process so far, said city clerk Mary Csukas.
“As of now I’ve had ten to 15 people call and question ‘what’s the process, where are we at, what are we doing’…but since we have no information to give them, I encourage each one to follow our agenda to see where we’re at and look for information,” said Csukas.
She added that, in the interest of fairness, she wasn’t keeping a list of names to contact when more information was available.
“It’s not fair to them because it’s not first come first serve,” she said. “It’s ‘keep an eye on what happens with the council, it’s a long process. Watch the newspaper and we’ll continue to give information when we get close.”
The meeting also included a discussion on building size, square footage, and inventory limitations for a future package store.
With so many details to nail down, Parks said that there may need to be another session similar to this one.
“We’ll narrow this stuff down, and I hope y’all will be willing to further compromise, but we may need another session,” he said.
The next steps will be to craft an ordinance that the council can vote on at a future council meeting once the memorandum reviews are done and allow for public comment.