Changes could be coming to the alcohol ordinance in Calhoun.
On Saturday, March 15, the Calhoun City Council met for a policy work session, and one of the items on the agenda was updating the alcohol ordinance. The proposed changes would allow downtown businesses to sell alcohol to customers in a patio area. Also, the ordinance would allow public alcohol consumption outdoors in a designated area during events.
“There is reinventing the wheel and then tweaking the wheel. I’m more for tweaking the wheal,” Calhoun City Attorney George Govignon said.
This proposed change comes after the public requested to have alcohol during events, such as, Barbeque, Boogie and Blues and other weekend events held in downtown Calhoun, according to the council.
Everyone was in an agreement that allowing alcohol in designated outside areas, like many cities already do, could influence bigger companies to sponsor special events.
However, the change may not be made before this year’s Barbeque, Boogie and Blues, due to the legality of changing an ordinance. Therefore, the council doesn’t believe there is enough time to get the changes made.
“Government moves slow. Private industry can pull the trigger, but we have processes. And there are advantages to going slow,” Calhoun City Administrator Eddie Peterson said.
According to Govignon, the police department has requested there be a last consumption hour, which would prohibit businesses to sale alcohol in bulk and then provide it to the customer after last call. However, Council member David Hammond also proposed extending last call hours.
For businesses, there could be a penalty imposed if a renewal request for alcohol license is filed late, according to Govignon.
Another issue holding the passage of the ordinance back is the council wants to give everyone involved a say in the construction of the ordinance, specifically the Downtown Development Authority, according to Peterson.
“If all these things are going to occur downtown, I think the DDA should be the conduit for this,” Peterson said.
For the moment, the ordinance is still being finalized. There will be two public hearings for the proposed changes.
“This is not iron clad. This is in no way shape or form ready to pass,” Govignon said