Eden City Council adopts ordinance allowing the consumption of alcohol on public property

By Miranda Baines

Published: November 19, 2008

Emotions ran high Tuesday night as the Eden City Council discussed an amendment to the alcohol ordinance.

“Nothing in the world seems to stir up emotions as much as talking about alcohol,“ Thomas Harrington, a resident of Washington Street, said.

Harrington spoke in favor of an ordinance allowing the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages on public property, urging the council not to make a decision based on emotion. The council adopted the ordinance by a vote of 5-2, with Jerry Epps and Christine Myott casting the dissenting votes.

Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Tuggle made the motion to adopt the ordinance after clarifying that it would not allow people to freely roam the city streets and sidewalks with alcoholic beverages.

“They can’t walk up and down the streets with any type of containers whatsoever?“ Tuggle asked Mike Dougherty, Eden’s director of business development.

Dougherty confirmed that the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages would not be allowed on city streets and sidewalks.

Before Tuesday night’s council meeting, Dougherty removed from the ordinance an amendment that would have allowed a restaurant with an ABC license to serve alcohol to customers seated at tables on sidewalks outside or adjacent to its business. Dougherty also noted that the ordinance will not allow the “free flow” of alcohol and will not allow the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages on city property, including parks.

After Dougherty’s clarification, Tuggle made the motion and Councilman Jim Burnette seconded to adopt the ordinance.

“I feel like they made the right decision, and I feel like the citizens of Eden need to have enough faith in the downtown merchants that they’re going to have events that are going to be controlled,“ Dougherty said.

“Eden citizens have proven they are capable of responsibly consuming alcohol at special events.“

He said the now-defunct Apple Festival included beer gardens for 16 years, and for the past three years, the city’s RiverFest has included beer gardens. No alcohol-related incidents at these events have been reported.

Myott acknowledged that she saw Dougherty’s point. She said she sees no reason why downtown merchants can’t continue to donate parking lots for use as beer gardens.

To Myott, the issue was private property versus public property. Myott said she doesn’t have a problem with people drinking alcohol in a restaurant or other private venue but does not see the need to allow alcohol on public property.

“I just don’t think we need to open that door,“ Myott said. “Once you open it like that, we’re going to have some problems, I know, down the road.“

Eden residents Billy Cushman and Scott Faint also questioned why the city saw the need to allow the consumption of alcohol on public property when the beer gardens on private property at citywide events have worked in the past.

“It’s been going good like it’s going, so don’t start it if it doesn’t need to be started,“ said Cushman. Faint agreed that there’s no need to fix something that doesn’t need fixing. He expressed his disappointment in the alcohol ordinance.

“I’ve always thought of Eden as a town of progress and pride, and I don’t take pride in this,“ Faint said.

The alcohol ordinance passed by a vote of 4-3 at last month’s council meeting, with Epps, Myott and Darryl Carter casting the dissenting votes. Myott said she is surprised that the council, many of whom teach or coach young people or have young people in their family, would choose to allow the consumption of alcohol on pubic property.

Johnny Dyer, a local pastor, expressed his religious views on the alcohol issue. He quoted Scripture: “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). Dyer also said he believes serving alcohol at street festivals discourages rather than encourages people from coming, especially families with children.

“People are telling me they don’t want to come to these festivals because of the alcohol,“ Dyer said. He said that serving alcohol at downtown events causes more harm than good and that no good has ever come of consuming alcohol.

“Every family in this community has suffered from alcohol,“ Dyer said. “We are conscious of these things. I wonder what’s going on and how far we’re going to go.“

Lemuel Hardison, who has served two Christian churches in the city, also spoke against openly serving alcohol on public property. He later said the council’s decision to adopt the ordinance didn’t come as a shock.

“I knew it was a matter of time before this would happen,“ he said. “This is the trend in today’s world, so I expected it to pass.“

Hardison does not believe serving alcohol at events is necessary to the economic development of Eden and that it has not helped bring businesses to the city.

“In 1998, we heard a lot about liquor by the drink and were led to believe that if we passed that, we would have a lot of fine restaurants that would come in. Ladies and gentlemen, it has not happened,“ Hardison said.

But Mike Avina of Edward Jones Investments expressed his view that allowing the sale of alcohol on public property would help bring in business to Eden.

“A vote in favor of this ordinance is a vote in favor of economic development for the city of Eden, which we desperately need,“ Avina said. “This is one more tool to help us bring folks into the Eden area.“

Tom Barbour, owner of Barbour Studio & Gallery, said he moved his business to Washington Street because he saw the downtown as being a progressive area. He recounted his trips to Europe, where people sat out on the sidewalks drinking wine and socializing, not causing any problems. He believes giving people the option to drink alcohol at public events will bring more people into downtown Eden.

“It brings people and business grows,“ Barbour said. “That’s what we’re promoting. We’re only trying to promote choice.“

Avina said the alcohol ordinance promotes moderation in alcohol consumption, not excessive drinking.

“The ordinance allows for moderation and control of alcohol,“ he said. “That’s what we’re talking about, serving in a controlled environment.“

Under the new ordinance, Dougherty said that merchants or organizations who apply for a permit to serve alcohol must provide proof of insurance. He also said the permit will be subject to the approval of the city manager.

• Staff writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.