Wartrace liquor proposal sent to state legislature

Whether or not customers at the Walking Horse Hotel in Wartrace can be served liquor by the drink is now up to the state legislature. The town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 3-2 Tuesday night in favor of petitioning the state for a special exception.

Walking Horse Hotel owner Joe Peters argues his case for a liquor by the drink exception. The Wartrace Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 3-2 to petition the state for the exception. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The town hall was filled with citizens for the meeting, some there for the LBD issue, some from Mt. Zion Church to express concerns about drainage.

Mayor Don Gallagher opened the floor for their comments on the liquor matter.

Several residents spoke out -- all of them in favor of asking the state for the special exception.

"I want to reassure the members of the board that if you vote for the liquor by the drink exemption for the hotel, you are not voting for liquor itself," said Phillip Smith, a Wartrace resident who operates the Blockade Runner with his family. "A 'yes' vote does not make you a drunk or a bad person. You can personally be against alcohol and choose not to drink, and still vote yes for the hotel. It doesn't mean you're not a respectable, church-going citizen."

Smith referred to a recent documentary about Nashville during Prohibition, and how the economy "took off like a rocket" after it was repealed.

"If this vote passes, will it guarantee that the hotel will succeed?" Smith asked. "Not at all. But with the closing of the coffee shop, the rumor of the laundromat closing, the ice cream shop being for sale and only open when they can be .... The hotel may be our last shot at Wartrace becoming a destination, rather than just a town passed on its way to somewhere else.

"I do believe this vote will decide whether we compete with Bell Buckle for tourists or whether we compete with Normandy for empty buildings."

Aldermen Thomas Hurt and Jean Gallagher voted against sending the petition on to the state. Aldermen Ed Simpson, Scott Claxton and Patsy Gregory voted to send the petition.

"When I went on as alderperson, it was to do good for the town," said Gregory,. "That's why I voted the way I did. Everything the Smith boy said was correct. I feel it will benefit the town."

She reminded the board that liquor by the drink is by no means guaranteed. All that is happening is that the town has agreed to ask the state to grant the special exception. It will now be up to the state to make the decision.

Walking Horse Hotel owner Joe Peters was also present. Peters first approached the board about the special exception request last winter, where it died for the lack of a motion. He brought the matter back to the board in September, and they agreed to place a survey at City Hall allowing people to sign their names if they wanted the town to proceed with the petition. Originally, only registered voters who were residents of the town were permitted to sign, but that was later amended to include property owners.

"We have 391 registered voters in Wartrace and 32 property owners," said Gallagher. "There were 47 people who signed the petition -- that's about 11 percent."

Later, Gallagher said only 278 of those voted in the last election, and using that number, the 47 signatures represented about 14 percent.

Another who spoke out in favor of the petition was Jerry Fox.

"I think some of you, when you were elected, thought they had the right to govern the morality of the town," said Fox. "That's not your job.'

The Rev. Mike Root, who is a partner in the hotel with Peters, stressed responsibility and liability, pointing out that liquor was allowed at the hotel now by "brown-bagging" it, and liquor by the drink was a much better way to handle that.

"You have municipal control," he said. "You have a licensed bartender, you have an owner who is responsible."

Janet Fox, who owns the historic Main Street Inn, said her business was off 62 percent this year and she, too, faces the prospect of closing her doors. One reason, she said, was because of having to send her customers to other towns for food and entertainment.

"We need to do something to get this town alive again," she said. "That's a big investment over there. He (Peters) pays a lot of taxes. I do not drink liquor. I am not a boozer. But I support him. He's going to be in trouble like we all are."

Peters himself was the last to speak in the open comment portion of the meeting. He stressed how much he loved the town and wanted to see it thrive, calling it "Mayberry" at one point and even making a passing reference to Otis, the town drunk of the old Andy Griffith television show.

"Not a good example," said the mayor, and those in the room laughed.

"It's not about the money," said Peters. "Anyone who knows, knows there isn't a lot of money to be made (at the hotel). What I've done is invested with my heart.

"We don't have to be like Bell Buckle," he continued, "Let's be like Wartrace. I think we have a lot to offer, but we need a reason for people to come to this town -- not just on their way to Bell Buckle."

Gallagher said he would send a copy of the minutes to State Sen. Jim Tracy to indicate that the board voted in favor of the issue, and the decision now rests with the legislature.