Boone mayor questions ABC expert
Clawson says she

will opposed

mixed-drink vote
By Frank Ruggiero
ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

Mixed drinks were on the agenda for Thursday’s Boone Town Council meeting, but it wasn’t exactly happy hour, as Mayor Loretta Clawson had earlier expressed opposition to liquor by the drink.

The council is expected to vote in June on whether or not to allow a referendum on mixed-drink sales in Boone, and Clawson said that, as a citizen, she would vote against the measure.

Her concerns included the establishment of private clubs in downtown Boone, an alcohol-food sales ratio at 70 and 30 percent, respectively, and loss of town revenue, as she said the availability of liquor would require additional police protection and manpower.

At Thursday’s council meeting, Clawson was able to question a literal authority on the matter. Danny Sellers, director of the N.C. Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Commission’s education and training division, attended to present information and answer questions.

Sellers first offered a bit of history on liquor in North Carolina, saying that in 1908, the state was the first in the union to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages. After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, North Carolina became one of 19 controlled states, where the sale of alcohol was controlled by state or local government.

Open states, like South Carolina, allow individual business owners to sell liquor for profit. In controlled states, profit goes back to the community through taxes to rehabilitation programs and to fund law enforcement or local government.

North Carolina has 49 county and 109 municipal ABC boards, with five counties being represented as dry.

Sellers said trends indicate, though, that the western part of the state is gradually becoming wetter, especially with Waynesville and Pilot Mountain having recently approved liquor by the drink sales.

Sellers then touched on the pros and cons of liquor by the drink, saying that benefits include direct (through sales) and indirect revenue (through increased employment opportunities).

In 2007, more than $200 million was distributed throughout the state of North Carolina from liquor sales, including $8 million to education, $6.4 million to law enforcement, and $2 million to rehabilitation programs. Sellers said $4.38 is the cost of an average 750 ml bottle of 80-proof spirits, but with taxes, the retail cost is inflated to $11.95. If liquor by the drink is available in a municipality, an additional $3.75 would be tacked on to that bottle, meaning retailers would have to purchase it for $15.70. Out of that $3.75, though, 45 percent would go to the municipality.

Sellers then offered some local statistics, saying Blowing Rock’s income last year saw $1.7 million sold in spirits, with $394,000 going to taxes and another million to other expenses. The profit after distribution was $269,000, and law enforcement received $11,000, alcohol education $15,000 and the town of Blowing Rock $195,000.

Cons, Sellers said, include a greater exposure to alcohol in the community and an increase in alcohol-related crimes, including underage drinking, driving while impaired and drug use. “Sure, it is possible if you were just to pass alcohol period, you could have those problems – I’m not sure if liquor by the drink would create those problems,” he said, adding those problems can even be found in dry communities.

Addressing a concern about strip clubs seeking to open in communities that allow mixed drink sales, Sellers said many of those businesses don’t even sell alcohol. Another question, he noted, asks if citizens can vote liquor by the drink out after it has already passed, and Sellers said this can be done. After three years, a referendum may be held to vote it back out, though this has only been done once in 1937 — in Johnston County. However, in 1964, Johnston County citizens voted it back in.

“Simply put, it’s about personal choice, and only the citizens of Boone can determine what’s best for this community,” Sellers said. “The decision is the community’s to make.”

Clawson said a major concern in the community deals with the alcohol-food ratio, which includes all alcoholic beverages, and Sellers said the ratio applies when establishments meet statutory specifications as a restaurant, such as seating, refrigeration and so on. If it appears otherwise, an Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agent would conduct an on-site investigation, auditing the food percentage, for instance.

Clawson asked if this would lead toward more of a bar situation, with 70 percent liquor and 30 percent food, and Sellers said North Carolina does not offer permits for bars, but rather different permits for different establishments that sell spirits.

Clawson asked if businesses could get away with offering peanuts, popcorn and crackers to meet the ratio. Sellers said they couldn’t, and those that did would only be retail businesses that qualify for beer and unfortified wine sales.

Clawson noted that private or night clubs would not be required to sell food, and Sellers concurred. He added, however, that there are criteria to be met for an establishment to be considered a private club, including the stipulation that while memberships may be sold at the door, they are not activated for 72 hours, meaning the applicant would have to return in three days to gain admission.

Sellers admitted that not all clubs comply with this, but those who violate the regulations are penalized. Violating businesses can have their permits revoked for up to three years and be charged fines of $3,000 to $5,000. The higher fines are reserved for larger offenses, such as underage drinking, gambling and drug use.

For repeat offenders, however, fines do increase, he said, adding that most violations are reported via complaints, usually from competitors.

Clawson asked if Sellers could offer a figure on how much revenue could be gained by mixed drink sales, “because there are situations where you’d need to have more police officers.

“I’m not sure you can say that…you’d need more law enforcement simply because you’re adding another type of alcoholic beverage,” Sellers said.

“But you can’t say you cannot,” Clawson replied, to which Sellers concurred.

Clawson reviewed the negative effects mentioned by Sellers and added that mixed drink availability would draw more national franchise restaurants to the area, having a negative effect on local restaurants. Sellers observed that Boone already has a decent share of national restaurants, many of which even open in dry communities.

“Is there a guarantee?” he asked. “No, ma’am, there’s not a guarantee.”

Concerning the emergence of strip clubs, Clawson said it seemed unlikely that a topless bar would open without the availability of mixed drinks, but Sellers said there are clubs that do just that, which allows them to avoid ALE or ABC inspections that permits would otherwise entail.

Council member Janet Pepin asked about the allowance of brown-bagging, in which patrons are allowed to bring liquor to restaurants in dry areas, provided it is concealed in a bag. Sellers said while this is legal, it proves very difficult for restaurateurs in controlling problems like sales to intoxicated patrons, since the alcohol belongs to the patron.

Mayor pro tem Lynne Mason asked if the state has any programs in place to train businesses to sell alcohol responsibly, and Sellers said there are such programs offered by ABC and ALE free of charge that can be held in places of business.

“The point is to make sure they know what is and what is not legal,” Sellers said. “The number one excuse is ‘I didn’t know.’”

Mason asked if there were procedures in place to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages to people underage, and Sellers said there are, via the Cops in Shops program, underage drinking prevention campaigns and complaint-driven enforcement.

“Sometimes complaint-driven doesn’t really lend itself to someone being there, because sometimes there are not complaints,” Clawson said. “People just let things go, and that could certainly happen with liquor.”