Public Hearing on Alcohol Sales and Food Trucks in Cleveland, NC - All Amendments Passed
Two individuals signed up to speak to the issue of alcohol sales in town limits. Linda Dilliard (Frankie's Chicken & Ribs) said that she really needed the income from alcohol sales to stay in business. She is open only three days per week now due to Covid-19. Another restaurant, China Garden, which is across the parking lot, just closed shop due to the economic challenges with the coronavirus. The Asian restaurant featured a buffet (and shifted to by-the-plate for a period) which complicated seating, spacing, and limits on numbers of customers.
The second speaker was the brother of Dilliard, and he seconded the request and need for another sales revenue.
Changes in Zoning Passed
There were four sections of the zoning ordinance that required votes to make the changes to allow alcohol at restaurants and food trucks in city limits.
One vote was in reference to wording and was passed by all board members.
The second vote covered specific guidelines for having alcohol at local restaurants. That passed three to two. The "yes" votes were Bryan Little, Richard Taylor, and Travis Summitt. Taylor said that he had gone to Mario's which is close but outside town limits and serves alcohol. He spoke with the owners and staff and noted that they had not had problems with selling alcoholic beverages. Taylor said that he thought this would come up over and over if we did not take action.He noted that residents of Cleveland go to other restaurants in towns close by that serve alcohol and that it did not seem fair to block the local owners from having the same option.
Gerald Osborne noted that he did not support alcohol being sold in Cleveland. He said alcohol caused a lot of problems. He voted no, and John Bradford said, "I'm with Mr. Osborne on this."
Highlights of the New Rules on Alcohol and Food Trucks
The new rules did pass and included things like limiting the amount of alcohol sold per quarter to no more than 35% of total sales. In other words, a restaurant in Cleveland would need to make the bulk of its income from food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Food truck permits to set up in Cleveland, NC will be $250 for a year or a $50 one time event fee for something like parade day.
Food truck rules will apply across the board. If a church, for instance, wants to have a food truck at an event, the fee does apply.
The board added some "teeth" to the new guidelines/rules. The first violation of the rules would result in a $100 fine, second offense would be $300, and a third offense would result in revocation of the permit.
Dealing with Public Meetings During Coronavirus
Since the number of individuals attending the public forum and town board meeting was small, people were able to rotate inside. The temperature at 7:30 p.m. when the meeting was scheduled to start was in the 40s which was quite cold to be sitting or standing on the concrete at the entrance of the town hall. There was also a problem with the microphones (not charged). There were eight public employees or elected officials at the meeting which left space for 2 other people at a time per Governor Roy Cooper in his recent "Safer at Home" mandate (limits gatherings inside to 10 people).
Mayor Pat Phifer requested $1600 to get wireless microphones, a monitor (large screen TV), and projector. The purchases were approved and will allow the board to meet in the future on Zoom with residents attending or checking in remotely (by phone or computer).
Comments
Post a Comment