City to Restaurants: Not So Fast with Extended Pouring Hours
Douglasville Mayor Harvey Persons may decide to veto the City Council's five-to-two vote approving extending alcohol serving hours on Sunday mornings until 2 a.m.
Mayor Harvey Persons has until 7:30 p.m. tonight to decide whether or not to veto the Douglasville City Council's decision, allowing restaurants to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
City Manager Bill Osborne sent out a memo to Douglasville restaurants on Thursday afternoon that read: "The City Council on Monday night May 7, adopted an ordinance to extend alcohol serving hours on Saturday until 2 a.m. Sunday. Please be advised this change WILL NOT be effective this Saturday - Sunday, May 12 - 13, 2012. You will be notified early next week of the status of the change approved on May 7 by the City Council." (The memo is attached to this article.)
"Some (restaurants) may have assumed it was okay to go ahead and start serving during the extended hours," Osborne said. "We didn't want them opening up and getting in trouble with the law."
Osborne said the Mayor has not yet informed him of his decision. The Mayor has not yet returned the phone call from Douglasville Patch.
The Council voted five to two on May 7 to allow Douglasville restaurants to pour alcohol on Sundays until 2 a.m. Under the current law, Douglasville restaurants have to stop serving alcohol at midnight on Saturday.
According to the City's charter, the Mayor has three choices available to him within the week after the Council's initial vote, Osborne said. They are:
- Sign the measure the Council approved on May 7.
- Veto the measure the Council approved on May 7.
- Take no action.
If the Mayor vetoes the measure, the Council has the right to attempt to override the mayor's veto during their next voting meeting on May 21, according to Osborne. In order to be approved, there needs to be at least five Council members who vote for the ordinance, the same number who originally approved the measure last week.
During that meeting, those who voted for extending hours were Council members Larry Yockey, Carl Pope, Samuel Davis, LaShun Burr-Danley and Doug Lequire. Those voting against were: Council members Dennis McLain and Mark Adams.
If the Mayor takes no action before 7:30 p.m. tonight, the ordinance will automatically go into effect.
debra woodard
4:53 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
hi-PLEASE just let douglasville step into the 21st century and be allowed to compete with the surrounding counties that are already light-years ahead of us in many ways! i love douglasville, and have lived here since 1963-believe me, this will NOT send a printed invitation for the Devil to take up permanent residence here-just sayin'!
JB
12:00 am on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
"this will NOT send a printed invitation for the devil to take up permanent residence here-just sayin" You are a little late with that one. Even though DC doesn't have any AMC movie theaters ....it seems that the Devil(China) bought all of the AMC group in the USA. I would say China is a Devil and just the beginning. My point being that you people are so upset about buying your liquor you are blinded by what is really important. Having your booze on Sunday or your right to buy it should be taking a back seat to more important subjects. And please don't tell me it is all about your freedom to vote for the"right"to buy on Sunday. My uncle was a drinker and he came up with all sort of excuses. In other words stop acting like a bunch of children and help with more important things. PLEASE!
B Greene
10:59 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
Why do we vote and debate topics that are just vetoed and/or overturned by government officials. They decide no, then it's no, so our time and efforts are wasted voting on what the people/residence want, because we, the people, and our vote means nothing!! I'm so sick of the political crap!!!