Ringgold finalizes pouring permit fees, ordinance
After weeks of discussion, the city of Ringgold held the final reading of its new ordinance regarding the pouring permit fees for alcoholic beverages on Jan. 28.
In late December, the board decided to adjust the renewal fee schedule for bartenders, servers, and others who need the permit to be able to pour alcohol in establishments.
Rather than city staff being able to simply change the fee, the existing ordinance had to be adjusted due to the fees being published in the ordinance itself. To change the fees, the ordinance had to be changed with two official readings.
“This is our final reading to take the exact dollar amount of the pouring fee and the renewal out of ordinance that way we can leave it to the discretion of the city office,” Councilman Kelly Bomar said. “It just takes it out of this (the ordinance) officially so that if we ever want to change it in the future, we don’t have to change the city ordinance.”
For years, the initial pouring fee and each renewal cost $87. After evaluating that amount, the board decided to lower the renewal cost down to $40.
After approving the final reading of the new ordinance, the city also voted to adopt the new fees as agreed upon.
“This adoption of fees is to follow the ordinance you just passed,” said City Manager Dan Wright. “We’ll set it by the schedule of fees in the city manager’s office. Currently, the alcohol pouring permit fee is $87, and what we want to do is reduce the alcohol pouring renewal fee to $40 because there’s a lot less involved for the renewal of that. In the event that you ever want to change that, you’ll just have to change that at a regular City Council meeting with just one motion.”
Entertainment district
During December’s meeting, prior to the changing of the fees, Bomar also presented the idea of possibly creating sort of an entertainment district downtown that might allow for less strict consumption laws in a designated area.
“It’s just some food for thought …,” Bomar said. “The idea of an entertainment district being an area designated with any and all guidelines to be determined. This is just to get the conversation started about having an area however we’d like to structure it, where it would allow for people to have open containers of adult beverages that were purchased through local retailers, crafted, or whatever.”
Bomar explained that he’d done some research over the past several months and presented some ordinances from other cities as models to consider.
“I’d like to get some input over the coming weeks and months to see if it’s something we’d like to move forward with,” Bomar said.
Under current rules, alcoholic beverages sold at a restaurant or bar must be consumed on that establishment’s premises. However, with the establishment of an “entertainment district,” one could presumably take an unfinished drink with them if they wanted to take a walk downtown, or even purchase one “to-go” if they had plans to do some shopping on foot nearby.
If considered in the future, the concept could bring more businesses to town, or at least possibly attract more vendors during events.