Group determined to stop Sunday alcohol referendum

FLORENCE — A Florence pastor told Florence City Council that the group Strengthening Florence Families will do “everything in our power” to defeat a referendum that could allow Sunday alcohol sales at restaurants in the city.

Jim Crooks, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, said Monday that the group feels like a special interest is being allowed “to steamroll legislation around the public” in Florence.

He also said he doubts the city studied whether allowing Sunday alcohol sales would incur additional expenses for emergency responders.

The group recently launched the Web site http://votenoflorence.com in opposition of the referendum.

Hospitality Association of South Carolina President Tom Sponseller said the Web site’s references to a 2006 study in the American Journal of Public Health are like comparing apples to oranges.

Sponseller said New Mexico had lifted its ban on packaged alcohol sales, which aren’t up for a vote in Florence.

The researchers, who evaluated data from the 1990s, stated that they found a 29 percent increase in alcohol-related crashes and a 42 percent increase in deaths from Sunday alcohol-related crashes.

Sponseller also said New Mexico has a higher rate of alcoholism and that people with alcoholism are more likely to buy from a package store than a restaurant.

Areas such as Santee and Greenville allow Sunday alcohol sales, Sponseller said.

“No city or county (in South Carolina) has ever talked about the higher cost of EMT, law enforcement — it’s never been an issue,” he said.

Sponseller told council in July that allowing restaurants to sell alcohol on Sundays would increase sales by $650,000 a month.

Crooks also said he thought council didn’t give the public enough notice about the meetings where the referendum was considered. Although council advertised the meetings and articles appeared in the Morning News, Crooks said he’d like to have had 30 to 60 days to do the same amount of “homework” as the hospitality association.

Council on Aug. 14 passed its final reading of the ordinance to hold the referendum. That was one day before the city’s deadline to submit the referendum to county elections officials for placement on November’s ballot.

Councilman Rick Woodard asked city manager David Williams to try to validate the potential costs and revenues of Sunday alcohol sales.

In other business Monday, council voted unanimously to allocate nearly $300,000 to the Florence Downtown Development Corp. for the purchase of the former Kimbrell’s Furniture building at 135 S. Dargan St.

The Florence Museum of Art, Science and History had an interest in moving to the building, but has the matter under review.

They also gave unanimous approval to second and final reading of an ordinance to transfer two city-owned buildings to the corporation, a city-established nonprofit that plans to market the properties. The corporation has asked for the building at 117 and 119 S. Dargan St. as well as the former Carolina Theater, at 129 S. Dargan St.

Council members also asked the corporation to conduct a feasibility study for a teen center.

Council also voted unanimously to:

• Borrow an additional $400,000, for a total of $1,025,000 from the S.C. Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund, to pay for the cleanup of the former Bush Recycling Center site off North Irby Street.

• Schedule a public hearing next month regarding a request for $74,600 in unused Community Development Block Grant funds to replace the roof at the Florence Boys & Girls Club.

• Abandon an unopened right of way on the northern end of North Guerry Street.