Bar and liquor-store owners praised a possible revision in Wrangell’s liquor laws this week.
Revisions to liquor sale ordinances approved on first reading by the borough assembly Nov. 12 would allow alcohol to be sold on election days in the borough, and also standardize the hours of operation for any business selling alcohol throughout the calendar year. As borough code currently stands, businesses selling alcohol may open between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. during the fall and winter only by special permit, and not at all on election days. Current law had also allowed establishments to open at 8 a.m. between April 15 and Sept. 30 to accommodate tourism and charters.
The election-day section of the clause comes down to inconvenience for the customer, said Chet Powell, who works at City Market, and whose son owns the Totem Bar.
“I think there might be one other city in the state that has that ordinance,” he said. “It’s just inconvenient for the customer.”
Sam R. “Rayme” Privett III, who owns Rayme’s Bar, also said he suspected the provisions were relatively rare among Alaskan towns, though he couldn’t be sure.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board only keeps statistics on which communities prohibit the sale of alcohol, and not on those which have adopted election day or other temporary prohibitions.
Privett praised the council’s decision, and said he looked forward to the change’s second hearing Dec. 10.
“Speaking for my business, I’m excited about all of it,” he said. “For the Dec. 10 hearing, we’ll be able to answer any questions they have, if they have any.”
Bar owners and city officials said the election day prohibition stemmed from an earlier point in Wrangell history, when bars and polling places were the same place.
“I remember when I started voting, I voted at the American Legion, and they actually had a liquor license,” he said.
The changes to operating hours were designed primarily to aid liquor stores, Privett said.
“I’m not going to open my bar at 8 am, but for liquor stores it’s great,” he said. “At this time of year, if someone’s going on a hunting trip, for example, they might have forgotten to get the beer before they leave. The way the law stands, they’d have to wait until 10 a.m. to get anything.”
The proposed revisions to the code would make last call for local bar patrons 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 3 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday throughout the calendar year. Under another set of revisions to current law section 6.04.120, titled “Clearing the premises” had meant that customers and patrons had to leave no later than 30 minutes later for bars and 15 minutes for liquor stores. The proposed revisions would eliminate that section in its entirety without a replacement.
Privett and Powell both anticipated a smooth passage to the bill.
“I think it’ll pass no problem,” Powell said.
The revision’s second hearing will come before the borough assembly at the Dec. 10 regular meeting. The Nov. 26 assembly meeting has been cancelled.
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