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City Council Discusses Changing Hours of Alcohol Sales

March 29th, 2013 by

An Ordinance to amend the hours liquor can be served in private clubs in the city limits of Monticello was presented to the City Council at the Council’s meeting Thursday evening.

The current city ordinance permits liquor to be served in privately licensed restaurants and clubs from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m., except on Sunday, when the hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Arkansas Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control currently limits the hours alcoholic beverages can be served from 11:00 a.m. to 2 a.m. state-wide. Local government is permitted to further limit the hours liquor is served in the local area, but cannot expand the hours beyond those set by the ABC.

Several restaurants that are licensed to serve alcoholic beverages have requested that the hours be expanded to permit liquor sales as early as 12:00 noon, so that customers who wish to have drinks with their lunch could be served.

Monticello Police Department Eddy Deaton addressed the Council, requesting that the evening cut-off for selling or serving liquor be moved to 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. He cited issues with the need for extra patrols and covering the extra demands the late hours of liquor sales and increase in drunk drivers at that time creates for the police force.

It was suggested that cut-off time for sale of the beverages be set at 10:00 p.m., with an additional 30 minutes to an hour permitted for customers to consume their purchases, and another hour for staff to clean up and shut down the business for the evening. This would see customers placing their final orders by 10 p.m. and leaving the business by 10:30 or 11:00 p.m., with employees leaving midnight.

Alderman Joe Meeks suggested that if the serving time is to be moved forward, it should be changed to begin at 11:00 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. instead of noon.

Alderman Dr. Tim Chase expressed concern for, and requested that the Council give careful consideration to changing the starting liquor service time from 5 p.m. to noon, out of concern for the safety of the children who would be getting out of school during hours that liquor was being served. He requested that the Council not make a decision on the matter tonight, but give it time for consideration. Another alderman suggested that he would like to speak to his constituents in the ward he represents and get their input before he voted on the ordinance. The Council voted unanimously to table the issue until the May meeting.

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24 Responses to “City Council Discusses Changing Hours of Alcohol Sales”

  1. Seriously says:

    10:00 p.m. are you serious? This is ridiculous. Leave the time for closing alone!

  2. Je says:

    I Think the whole private club license is misleading. Public restaurants should not be able to be cosidered private clubs. I know that there is a lot if extensive paperwork to aquire these permits but what good does it do to have a dry township and when you take your chidren or church group out to eat for supper and have to explain to them what someone is drinking and why someone is extra loud and why we dont do it. It just seems like there is a loop hole for everything if you look hard enough. I personaly think if they are going to serve it ahould be after 9 p.m. by then most groups or families are gone.

  3. ArTravlR says:

    I can’t believe these comments! Is this the 21st Century?

  4. lucky bob says:

    if you buy a six pack at say 9 in the morning can you have a beer before noon??

  5. Seriously? says:

    I vote for someone starting up a taxi service and leaving everything as is…it would create a couple of jobs and make a few people feel safer from the raging alcoholics of Monticello who cannot handle their liquor.

  6. Je says:

    We should not alter our beliefs because of what time we are living in.

  7. Archaeopteryx says:

    I think it’s hilarious that in a part of the country so overwhelmingly concerned with personal freedom (gun rights! property rights!) we can’t have a glass of wine with lunch because somebody’s afraid they might “have to explain” it to their children. There are plenty of places you can take your kid where no alcohol is served, if they’re so delicate they can’t be exposed to one of Jesus’s favorite drinks. Or maybe I’m just confused, and Jesus changed water into sweet tea.

  8. taxpayer says:

    Is the Country Club going to abide by these rules you are wanting to adopt or will they be exempt?

  9. Stan says:

    Wow!!! I continue to be confused by this hypocrisy. We clammer for smaller government then ask the government to tell the folks at the table text to me what they can’t drink with dinner. If the site of people having fun and laughing loudly at dinner while drinking wine instead of cokacola is somehow ruining your family experience there are plenty of places in town to eat that don’t sell beer. I think the drive through might be your best choice though if you want to be fully in control of who is doing what in eyesight of your table. For example I have to explain why the folks at your table feel empowered to judge the folks at my table. How awkward it is when I explain that to my children that it is normal to have a beer with a hamburger and that some folks are just so pious as to decide how I should pray, eat, date, and marry.

  10. Two Cents says:

    I don’t really have a comment on the liquor serving times, but rather to something I read in the comments. When Je talks about the hassle of having to explain to children about alcohol, it concerned me a little. Alcohol is real, and it is in Monticello. We can debate a dry township issue until we’re all blue in the face, but to suggest that the only time to talk to children about the effects/dangers of alcohol is when they see it in public is waiting too late. The solution to most every problem in the world is education. And not the type of education you get from public school. I think that our nation is teetering on the brink because parents are no longer educating their children. They don’t talk to them about religion, that’s what Sunday School is for. They don’t talk to them about sex, that’s what public school is for. They don’t talk to them about alcohol, or war, or famine, or impoverishment. As a nation, our parents seem content to bury their heads in the sand and pretend like it doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, they’re creating a plastic ignorance bubble around their children. I had much rather have these children educated about real-world events by their parents, who love them, than by the cold, unforgiving hands of society-at-large. I hope that I’m preaching to choir with most of you, because otherwise we’re headed down a very dark path. And it won’t be alcohol’s fault, it will be ours.

  11. tracy says:

    There is plenty of places to go if you dont like to see people drink and have a good time go somewhere else

  12. Bob says:

    Seriously..looks like another reason to push for wet county to keep ridiculous discussions like these out of government’s hands. Have we fixed our water infrastructure yet?

  13. Living in a dome says:

    Ridiculous!!!!! It is no wonder this town is not growing AND people are leaving!! The decisions made by the officials in this town serve the closed minded. There is nothing wrong with a libation every once in a while and with a meal. Panorama does not shut down their kitchen at 9PM and serve alcohol only. They are not a club. However, if a person does not want to have their children in an atmosphere where alcohol is served—take them to McDonald’s for pete sake!! As far as The River is concerned—they close their kitchen at 9PM and serve alcohol only. Just take the children home before 9PM. My question is simply…Will the patrons of the Country Club abide by the same rules or are they priveledged?

  14. Jeff says:

    So only people that drink in clubs can drive drunk?

  15. Jeff says:

    The River? NOT IN THE CITY!!!!So this law would bo nothing to them except build the late crowd.

  16. 3 cents says:

    The Country Club and the River are both in the county and will not be affected by any rules or laws the city may impose on selling times.

  17. Monticello taxpayer says:

    If I understand this correctly I don’t think the alcohol is the issue. I gather that the problem is every establishment in the county and city are closing at the same time, which creates a crowd problem at the EZ Marts, McDonalds, Huddle House and Wal-Mart. The city officers are required to handle problems that arise at local businesses due to so many people trying to be there at the same time. Which also shows when other emergency calls arise during this time there are no officers to handle those due to having to handle crowd control. Yes, I agree the problems are not going to stop but the large crowd won’t be all at one time. I would hope there would be an officer able to take other calls when they come in instead of having to wait to get the crowds under control first.

  18. Do What? says:

    The River’s grill closes at 10 on the weekends, and they are in the county. I think the country club somehow is in the county as well. so it will not affect them. The only place it will effect is La Terraza because they are the only private club in city limits that stays open after the grill closes. I am in favor of them moving the start time to 11, but when i went to La Terraza during bar hours there where at least 10 underage kids drinking, and the bartender knew it. Im glad they got caught and fines so they can clean that stuff up.

  19. concerned also says:

    Being a concerned human being as well, I would just like to say that drinking and driving is illegal, yet so many choose to do so ,With that being said,I do not believe that everyone should be punished for the mistakes of the few..Meaning no disrespect here at all but, If I remember correctly, didn’t a young man named Rooster loose his life in the middle of the afternoon by a drunk driver,. Only thing was… They were traveling back from out of town or passing through. So we will never be able to completely protect innocent people from this behavior, but at least we could have better control if was right here in this town, and the bartenders payed attention to patrons and knew when to say”ok,you’ve had enough”and call for a cab at the New Cab service someone will hopefully start

  20. Local Business Owner says:

    After reading these comments I see what everyone is saying. Even if they cut-off selling or serving liquor in the city limits earlier some of the patrons would leave and go to The River which is in the county. Maybe the city council should consider funding for more officers position to be able to take care of our community. Not only during the hours being discussed but everyday. I have seen these guys on the go non-stop and being a business owner I have had employees on numerous occasions call for an escort to the bank but they have calls holding so we just wait. They always show up, and we understand emergencies are higher priority. There is no reason we should just get by on the minimal officers when we could use a few more. They are there to protect us why can’t we give them more manpower to protect them also? I vote we shouldn’t wait until we have another tragedy in our area and remind you unfortunately next time could be worse so why wait until then before we do anything for our public servants? Not getting off the subject at hand as this would help with all the private clubs & restaurant crowd flow as well.

  21. GRANMAW says:

    Whateva !!! If they want to drink…they will no matter the time wine-os

  22. walter says:

    I am told that a person will fail a breathalyzer test after drinking only one beer. (Is this true?) If so, everyone that has had a drink or beer will be legally drunk when leaving any establishment serving alcohol. Will they be stopped and tested, perhaps fined? Or will we wait until there is an accident and say it was “alcohol related” in our statistics? I have no problem with people having a drink. If however we are going to set the bar very low for “legal drunk” status, then the police are free to pick and choose those to stop, test and fine. If you have only one drink, have an accident, or (God forbid) harm or kill someone, can the establishment be sued for serving the customer too much alcohol since he/she was drunk after their first beer? Just sayin’.

  23. Click says:

    If you look at arrest locally, 75% or more are alcohol related. For those who want longer hours to sell liquor…If your child or loved one was killed by a drunk driver would you honestly feel the same way?

  24. Bob says:

    Yes, Click, I would. I wouldn’t want the government to come in and further restrict people’s rights. It’s not our place to dictate to others what our morality or other values might be. It’s our nation’s job to protect the individual and minority, not to sway with with the prevailing, teetotalling wind. And when you post ‘statistics’, and i use that term very loosely, please have the decency to post your source…or lack thereof.

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