Reduced size, hours approved with 3 members absent
With three of its members absent, the Town Council on Tuesday adopted without expressed dissent an ordinance to establish a district where consumption of alcoholic beverages at outdoor public places is permitted, but only during afternoon and evening hours four days each week.
Councilman Sloan Stevens asked at the start of Tuesday’s regular second monthly council session that the issue be added to the agenda. “We’re missing out on opportunities to get people to come here and invest,” he said. “We’ve got to attract the young crowd” to Downtown Smithfield, he added.
The idea was first brought before the council last September and given tentative approval but subsequently tabled. Last Thursday it was discussed during a joint session of the council and directors of the Downtown Smithfield Development Corporation.
During Tuesday’s discussion, Councilman Stevens suggested the original plan be modified to eliminate North Second and North Third streets from the district that will extend from Front to Fourth streets along Market Street and also include portions of Front at the Neuse River Amphitheater and beside the Little Brown Jug.
Councilman Roger Wood suggested limiting hours of alcohol consumption within the district to 3-10 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Both suggestions were included in the motion to adopt the modified ordinance that was also supported by Councilman John Dunn. Councilman Steve Rabil was present Tuesday but remained silent. As a result, he was recorded as voting yes.
Absent from the meeting were Councilmen David Barbour and Marlon Lee, both of whom voted against the proposal when it first came up last September, and Travis Scott, who voiced reservations about it during last week’s joint session.
“We’re at a pivotal time with our downtown right now,” Mayor Andy Moore declared prior to Tuesday’s vote. “This sounds like a good compromise to get started.”
Town Manager Mike Scott said Smithfield’s plan must be approved by the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission before it can take effect. That could be done within the next 60 days, he said.
Smithfield’s social district will be the fourth among Johnston County’s towns. Clayton and Benson have recently joined Selma in the movement that’s spreading across N.C. in the wake of recent state legislation authorizing such districts.
– Courtesy The Smithfield Monthly Sun
