County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Questions on Alcohol – Yet Again

Q.   Isn’t alcohol really a city of Blairsville issue?
A. Absolutely.  The vast majority of restaurants and grocery stores are in the city limits.  There is only one grocery store and a few restaurants in the county, and if the city annexes close to town, those will also be in the city limits.  Therefore, if the county gave licenses for sales of alcohol, it would produce negligible revenues. If you want alcohol sales, then you should be talking to the Mayor and City Council, and not the Commissioner.

Q.  Is it true that the county would make 500,000/year on the sale of alcohol?
A. It is absolutely false.

Q.  Why can we not expect to collect $500,000 a year from alcohol sales?
A.  Last year’s alcohol revenue for Pickens County was $44,000, with a population of 30,000 people.  Gilmer County’s revenue was $71,000, with a population of 28,389.   With our population being 21,000, it is unlikely we would even receive  $50,000/year, one-tenth of Mr. Dyer’s figure. Most alcohol revenue collected goes to the cities where the establishments are located. . If the city should annex some county property where the restaurants are located along with the one grocery store, there would be even less revenue.  The convenience of having alcohol available locally might make a valid argument for alcohol sales by some people,  but expecting to collect significant county revenue is not a valid argument.

Q.  If the commissioner puts beer and wine sales in the county, would we not then attract chain restaurants like a Longhorn or Ruby Tuesday?
A.  Absolutely not.  None of those restaurants will come without liquor by the drink.  No commissioner can put in liquor by the drink without a vote of the citizens, which I put before the public and it did not pass.   

Q. Why can’t I have a drink of wine with my meal? I think it is ridiculous that I can not do that in Union County.
A.  If you are in a local restaurant that allows brown bagging, you can have your wine as several restaurants do currently   If it is a restaurant that does not allow brown bagging, do you think they would serve alcohol if allowed to? Very likely not. Remember, the commissioner does not control anything in the city limits of Blairsville, so even if the commissioner gave license in the county,  none of those restaurants or grocery stores in the city   would be able to sell or serve alcohol. 

Q. I drink and wish we had alcohol, but I also know it is far from the most important issue this county is facing. At least you were the first commissioner that put it on the ballot and even though it lost, you gave us the opportunity to vote on it.
A. Unfortunately, this is just one of those issues that will not go away. 

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