Formal request expected

on mixed drink referendum
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

The Boone Town Council has postponed its vote on a mixed drink referendum from its May regular meeting to June.

Skip Sinanian, chairman of the ABC Task Force, which has spearheaded efforts to make liquor by the drink available in Boone, will appear before the council Thursday, May 15, to formally request a June vote.

In March, Sinanian requested that the council vote on the matter in May to meet statutory requirements, which would schedule the referendum – if approved by the council and scheduled by the Watauga County Board of Elections – in September, when most Boone residents are present.

“I foresaw – incorrectly – that this entire process was going to take longer than anticipated and, therefore, am slightly ahead of schedule,” Sinanian said in his written request to the council.

A public hearing on the matter was held this past April.

Though the council won’t vote on the referendum at its May meeting, council members will hear from Danny Sellers, director of the N.C. Alcohol Beverage Control Commission’s education and training division, who will attend to present information and answer questions.

In other matters, the council is expected to take action on amendments to its smoking policy. Changes to Chapter 97 of the municipal code would prohibit smoking in all town parks, playgrounds and sidewalks in front of town buildings, as well as in municipal vehicles.

The changes also address smoking refuse, saying, “It shall be unlawful for anyone to deposit any portion of a cigarette, cigar, smoking device or any refuse related to smoking on town property, except in (a) designated receptacle.”

Violation of the smoking policy will result in a civil penalty of $50, while the littering portion will result in a $100 penalty.

The council will discuss these matters and others at its regular meeting Thursday, May 15, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers, located at 1500 Blowing Rock Road. For more information, call Boone Town Hall at (828) 262-4530.