By Jean Cole
An Athens man was trying to reduce the number of beer cans and bottles going into the landfill when he first proposed legalizing draft beer in the city.
Since then, Kelly Range’s mission has become a matter of choice.
“You don’t have to buy draft beer,” Range said. “You don’t have to buy beer or wine on Sunday. It is about giving adults the choice.”
He wants the local legislative delegation and the City Council to give Athens the choice.
He recently asked the delegation in a letter to vote to legalize both draft-beer sales and Sunday alcohol sales in Athens when they meet in February.
He gave the City Council a petition bearing the names of 1,560 supporters on Monday.
For the measure to move forward, the City Council would have to decide whether they supported draft-beer sales or Sunday sales, or both, said City Clerk John Hamilton, who discussed the matter with the Alabama League of Municipalities. If council members approved draft-beer sales or Sunday sales, or both, they would then ask state Rep. Henry White, D-Athens, to introduce legislation to legalize it. The council could ask that the legislation include a public vote on the matter but they don’t have to, Hamilton said.
The council could ask the Legislature to amend an existing law directly as long as the amendment does not clash with state law. Because the sale of alcohol is already legal, legalizing draft beer would simply be an amendment. It would not require a public vote.
Started as recycling effort
This summer, Range, who has pushed beautification efforts elsewhere in the city, went to downtown restaurants that sell beer and found they were throwing away a lot of beer cans and bottles that could be recycled. He tried to push recycling but learned the businesses don’t have space to store recyclables and the recycling center will not pick them up. He thought the sale of draft beer — beer drawn from a keg and served in a glass rather than in cans or bottles — would generate less waste.
By July, his mission had evolved. He placed 10 petitions in nine restaurants and one convenience store asking the local legislative delegation to vote to legalize draft beer and Sunday sales. In just 30 days, Range had gathered the 1,560 signatures.
He admits Sunday sales have nothing to do with his initial recycling effort, but he believes the matter is simply one of choice so he included both issues on the petition. He doubts Sunday sales have much chance of passing anyway.
“It’s a political firestorm,” Range acknowledged. “But I think the city is missing a great revenue source in doing so. Let’s be more forward and progressive. That is a lot of money on Sunday we are missing out on.”
Range believes the city could use the money generated by taxing alcohol.
“As far as Sunday sales goes, in this time of shrinking revenues for the city of Athens, it seems to me that we are missing all of the revenue that Sunday sales in our restaurants and stores would generate and just sending the money to Madison,” Range wrote in his recent letter to the delegation, which includes Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison; Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur; Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw; Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur; and Rep. Henry White, D-Athens.
History
Athens residents first voted to legalize alcohol sales in 2004. However, that legislation banned the sale of draft beer and the sale of alcohol on Sundays.
Athens voters still support the sale of alcohol in the city. By a margin of more than 2-to-1, citizens voted in 2007 to continue alcohol sales despite an effort to repeal the law. The vote was 4,288 to 2,030 — or 67.8 to 32.1 percent — in favor of legal alcohol sales.
Whether the public is ready for draft beer or Sunday sales is unclear.
Range believes the support is there. He said council members voiced neither support nor opposition for the petition he presented.
Orr has responded to his letter to the delegation and asked Range to inform him if the council supports the issues.
