Lucy’s Branch Marina owner Billy Christopher and members of the Limestone County legislative delegation have been keeping their fingers crossed lately.

A bill in Montgomery that would allow Christopher to offer on-premises alcohol sales at a planned restaurant has passed the House and was approved Wednesday by the Senate. Christopher is waiting until final adoption to celebrate, however.

The legislation was carried in the House by State Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, and in the Senate by State Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence. The bills seek to create a community development district at Lucy’s Branch Marina, which has not had the legal authority to sell alcohol.

The city of Athens sought to annex Lucy’s Branch into the city last year, but a piece of legislation carried in Montgomery by Crawford and Sens. Melson and Bill Holtzclaw died in the Senate. At the time, Holtzclaw and Melson said there were simply too many unanswered questions about fire and police protection. Melson said he also felt the move would set a precedent for what he called “lasso annexation.”

Melson said he preferred this bill because it only authorizes on-premises alcohol sales at the restaurant, which Christopher said would be built on the river.

“The last bill had both on and off-premises sales,” Melson said. “With this one, we don’t have to worry about people driving up in a boat and buying beer and then doing something crazy.”

Melson said he also felt better about fire and police protection after receiving assurances from both the Clements Volunteer Fire Department and Limestone County Sheriff’s Office that they would protect the area.

“We just wanted to have a good compromise,” Melson said of the bill.

Christopher said there were still a couple of hurdles left, but he was cautiously optimistic the legislation would be finalized next week. If it becomes law, Christopher can move ahead with his restaurant plans.

He said drafts of the restaurant have been approved by the Tennessee Valley Authority, a requirement because the restaurant would come out over the Tennessee River.

“It will be a fantastic restaurant with a fantastic river view,” Christopher said. “We feel it will make us a destination point for people who come to the marina just for the view. The restaurant will have a full bar and entertainment on the weekends.”

Annexation into Rogersville?

After the community development district bill was introduced into the Legislature, Christopher said the town of Rogersville showed interest in annexing Lucy’s Branch into its corporate limits. The talks have been on the back-burner as Christopher waited to see how the bill would fare in Montgomery.

When asked about the benefits of being annexed, he said it all comes down to promotion and if the town could promote Lucy’s Branch to tourists. It would also open the door to off-premises alcohol sales.

“There’s a lot of people on the river who would like for us to have off-premises sales,” he said. “The restaurant was always the biggest thing and the primary goal. If we can get (the bill finalized), I’m not sure we would look at (annexation).”

Visit https://bit.ly/2HX7rCH to read the community development district bill in its entirety.