Action on Sunday alcohol sales delayed [The Floyd County Times, Prestonburg, Ky.]

Aug. 25--PRESTONSBURG --With a hallway of more than a dozen residents waiting outside, the Prestonsburg City Council voted to table a first reading of an ordinance that would allow for the sale of beer on Sunday.

The motion to put off the reading was made by councilmember Harry Adams, who had supported the idea in prior discussions.

"I want to do a financial impact study on this before we do anything else," Adams said Monday. "My concerns for this city is the businesses."

The motion to table the reading was seconded by Don Willis. Council members Donna Blackburn Wells and Kelly Moore were not present for the meeting Monday.

While Adams made his motion, more than a dozen residents who have openly opposed the possibility of selling alcohol on Sunday in the city waited in the hallway. One of those, pastor Tommy Reed, addressed the rest after the issue was tabled.

"I want to thank all of you for coming," said Reed, who has been the most vocal of those opposing the issue. "If it comes up again in the future, I'll let you know. You're presence here meant a lot and I think it made a good statement."

Reed, who was one of at least three other pastors in attendance for Monday's meeting, said for him and the rest, the issue was not money.

"It's not a money issue with us," he said. "It doesn't honor the Lord's day."

The ordinance found its way to a first reading Monday after a 4-3 vote last week which saw council members B.D. Nunnery, Gorman Collins Jr., Roy Roberts and Adams voting to draft the ordinance and members Freddie Goble, Kelly Moore and Don Willis voting against it.

The council did not specify how long a financial impact study might take, but those who had pressed for the change earlier cited Stonecrest Golf Course as a large focus of the issue.

The golf course currently has several visitors bringing alcohol onto the course on Sundays, said Collins. This ordinance, he said, would give the city an opportunity to regulate the situation more effectively.

All members present for Monday's meeting voted in approval of the study before moving any further on the issue, including Freddie Goble, who said after the close vote last week, that his reasons were mostly personal as part of his religious convictions, but also took into consideration the financial aspects.

Goble said selling beer on Sunday in a city with a larger population might make more sense and bring more money, but he couldn't see much difference being made in a city the size of Prestonsburg.

In order for an ordinance to become law, the council must pass a first reading and then a second reading.

To see more of The Floyd County Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.floydcountytimes.com/.

Copyright (c) 2010, The Floyd County Times, Prestonburg, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544)