Referendum Petition Drive Underway to Allow Liquor Stores in Smithville

One month after the liquor by the drink referendum was defeated in the Smithville Municipal Election, another petition drive has been started calling for a public vote in November on allowing liquor stores in the City of Smithville.
Randy Paris, the local businessman who started the petition drive to get the liquor by the drink question on the city election ballot in June, is now circulating a petition calling for a local option referendum in the November General Election to “authorize retail package stores to sell alcoholic beverages in the City of Smithville” Only ninety valid signatures are needed to get the issue before city voters.
Paris, in a telephone interview with WJLE Thursday, said this is a way to boost the local economy and bring in more tax revenue. “Since we barely lost in the liquor by the drink referendum, I decided to try for liquor stores where people could buy wine and other alcoholic beverages at a market. But the decision really shouldn’t be about whether you drink or not or whether you approve of it or not. It should be a business decision that will help our city economically. We have a huge tourism trade and this is a way of generating revenue for our city from the amount of tourism we have as well as our local people who are spending money in Putnam County, Rutherford County, Jackson County, and all the surrounding areas. The money would stay in our county and our city to help us,” he said.
Paris has until around the first of September to get his petitions turned into the election commission.
The City of Smithville has a beer board that issues permits to eligible applicants for the sale of beer within the city limits. The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission would apparently have the authority over the issuance of liquor licenses.
Just last month, Smithville city voters denied an attempt to get liquor by the drink in qualifying city restaurants. By a vote of 402 (54.69%) to 333 (45.31%) city voters said “No” to the liquor by the drink referendum, which would have given city restaurants the opportunity to apply for a license from the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission to serve wine and other mixed alcoholic beverages to its patrons. Under state law, that issue cannot be raised again for at least two years.