Petition submitted for alcohol vote in Williamsburg

Williamsburg attorney Paul Croley submitted a petition to Whitley County Clerk Kay Schwartz asking for a vote on alcohol sales in the city.

Would allowing alcohol sales by the drink in restaurants lead Williamsburg to greater economic prosperity, or will it start the town down a slippery slope of greater alcohol use, which could result in eventual packaged alcohol sales and perhaps more?

These are two of the issues that Williamsburg residents will probably be considering during a special called election in March to decide whether to allow the sale of alcohol by the drink at restaurants, which seat at least 100 people.

About 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, local attorney Paul Croley presented Whitley County Clerk Kay Schwartz with a petition from the Citizens for Progress bearing about 400 signatures asking for a special election to decide the issue.

The question on the ballot will pertain to whether voters want to allow the limited sale of alcoholic beverages in Williamsburg. The petition requests that the special election be held on March 20.

Schwartz said 271 valid signatures will be required to place the measure on the ballot, and that her office would begin work immediately to verify the signatures, which she hopes to have done by next week.

She will then present the petition to Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr., who will then set a special election date that is no sooner than 60 days and no later than 90 days after the petition was filed.

Croley said he feels the chances of voters approving the measure are good.

"I think that it is a different day, and a different climate. I think people in Williamsburg realize this is something they have to have to move forward," Croley said.

"All the communities surrounding Williamsburg are doing this. They are taking advantage of it. Quite simply, if we don’t act on it at this point, our community is going to suffer. It’s not a vote for alcohol. It’s a vote for restaurants prosperity for our community."

The petition would allow alcohol sales at restaurants, which seat 100 people and derive at least 70 percent of their income from food sales.

It is the same referendum that Corbin voters approved in 2003 by a nearly 300-vote margin, and one that Williamsburg voters defeated in May 2006 by a vote of 790 – 577.

In 2006, Williamsburg organizers gathered at least 608 valid signatures on petitions to allow the sale of alcohol.

Croley said he thinks attitudes and perceptions have changed since 2006 in regards to what this vote and referendum could bring to the community.

"There was a lot of opposition the last time here in Williamsburg based upon the fact that Corbin had just recently voted to go moist," he said. "The argument that people made then was that Corbin would never get restaurants in spite of the fact that they voted for this. I think that is clearly not the case."

With its position on I-75, Williamsburg is well situated to attract nice family restaurants, which would benefit the local economy, Croley said.

He said one of the other main concerns the last time this referendum was on the ballot about 5.5 years ago was that drunk driving rates would skyrocket because of the new law.

"They thought there would be all kinds of new problems that this would generate," Croley said. "I would challenge those people to talk to the officials in Corbin, and see whether or not DUI rates have actually gone up significantly."

Anti-alcohol forces already have a rally planned for Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Cumberland Inn in Williamsburg.

Donald Cole, Executive Director of the Kentucky League on Alcohol and Gambling Problems, will be the keynote speaker. Cole will deliver an address and answer questions from the audience.

Pat Marple, who is chairperson of the committee opposing alcohol sales in Williamsburg, said that if alcohol gets approved, it will be here to stay.

"One of my biggest concerns is what happens next," he noted.

Corbin and London, which have had alcohol sales at restaurants for several years, will have measures on the ballot in the near future to let voters decide if they want to allow package sales of alcohol.

Marple said that in 2006, he never gave package alcohol sales much thought in the area, but he notes the issue is here now.
"We’ll just have to wait until February and March to see if it gets passed in London and Corbin," he said. "Let’s say it does get passed then that is the next step for those two cities.

"If alcohol by the drink gets here, then inevitably that is probably the next step that they will want here. Then what comes after that. I don’t know. It could be casino gambling. Then what comes after that? I don’t know, but when does it stop and where do these roads lead."

Marple said he thinks one difference this time around is that people are better educated and have a better understanding about what they can expect if voters approve the referendum, and about how much revenue would be generated from the sale of alcohol.

Marple said that the nice restaurants people are looking forward to seeing if the referendum passes have demographics, which have to be met before they will open restaurants in any area.

"I’m not sure of their demographics in 2012, but in 2006 we did not meet those demographics of those nice restaurants that they want to come into Williamsburg," he said.

Marple said he doesn’t have anything against those wanting to allow alcohol to be served at restaurants in Williamsburg.

"They are my friends. I do business with them, and I will continue to do business with them," he said.

"Williamsburg, like any other city, we are always at a crossroads. You try to figure out the best road to take to benefit the citizens of Williamsburg and the city of Williamsburg. I understand that. We just have a difference of opinion about which road we should take."

Marple said he feels alcohol sales aren’t the route to take to better the town.

"There are better ways. We have some smart people here to make good educated decisions. They have made those decisions over time," he said.

Marple said he hopes Christians will pray and seek leadership on how to vote.

"I want everybody to vote, and I want them to vote their conscience," he said. "This issue is not really about alcohol. It is more about the legal sale of alcohol.

"This to me isn’t a perception issue. It is a moral issue. We need to think this through and use wisdom. Pray about it and just follow your heart and your conscience."

Marple said he thinks the election will be very close, and is probably too close to call.

"You don’t know how people are going to vote. Some of them won’t know until they get in there to vote," he said.
Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison said he’s not surprised that some people want to see something in Williamsburg that hasn’t been here before.

"How do I think it will do? I don’t know, but I am all for giving the people here a chance to say yes or no," Harrison said. "They had 400 signatures. That tells me there are quite a few people, who are interested. How it goes, we’ll just have to wait and see.

"I think people here are starting to see what is going on around them, and I am interested in seeing how the vote goes."