Ordinance passed; as early as this Sunday, stores with current licenses can sell alcohol all day in Flomaton
Stores in Flomaton that currently have licenses to sell alcohol will be able to begin selling the alcohol as early as this Sunday after the Flomaton Town Council passed an ordinance Monday afternoon to allow for the Sunday sales.
In a special meeting attended by Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., and council members Buster Crapps, Jim Johnson, Lillian Dean and Charlie Reardon, the council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance allowing for the Sunday sales. (See full ordinance on Page 8A of today's Ledger). Councilman Roger Adkinson was absent.
Flomaton had previously passed an ordinance to allow for Sunday sales on a 5-1 vote, with Adkinson voting no, to ask the town's legislative delegation to pass a local bill to allow for Sunday sales. Mayor Bondurant said Flomaton was losing a lot of tax dollars to Century with people heading there to buy beer and wine on Sundays.
The Alabama Legislature passed a bill during its last session that allowed municipalities and counties to vote by ordinance to allow Sunday alcohol sales without having the Legislature pass local legislation.
At its Aug. 12 meeting, the council voted 5-1 to consider the ordinance to allow Sunday sales with Adkinson voting no. That forced a second reading Monday night that only needed a majority vote to pass. It passed 5-0 with Adkinson absent.
Flomaton now joins Atmore as the only two municipalities in Escambia County, Ala., to allow Sunday alcohol Sales. Through a local bill of the Legislature, businesses in Atmore can begin selling alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays. The ordinance passed by the Flomaton Town Council allows sales all day.
The ordinance also addresses some other concerns previously aired by Town Attorney Chuck Johns concerning where alcohol could be consumed. Johns said the town did not have an ordinance to prohibit drinking alcohol in public places such at Hurricane Park. The ordinance passed Monday now makes it illegal. It also makes it illegal to consume alcohol on certain private properties, such as store parking lots or other premises where the general public has access.
“We have a mayor who says he's a Christian,” Crapps said Monday afternoon. “We've got a councilman who said he's a Christian and that's good. I want to make it clear, I am too.”
Crapps said he was voting for the ordinance because others are getting tax dollars that should stay in Flomaton.
Dean also noted that Flomaton people and others were heading to Century to purchase alcohol on Sundays and she felt Flomaton should do what it could to keep the revenue in the town.
“We all love the Lord,” Dean said.
She said if people are leaving to go to Century, it would be a good thing for them to stay in Flomaton so the town could collect the revenue.
Mayor Bondurant said he personally doesn't like the idea of the alcohol sales on Sunday but feels its the best thing for the town.
“Probably nobody in this room hates alcohol more than me,” Bondurant said. “I grew up in it, I saw what it can do to families.”
Bondurant said when his family has a reunion once a year there are others who grew up with alcohol in the house and they all have bad memories of it.
“That's the reason I hate it so much,” Bondurant said. “I hate smoking the same way.”
“But we need more revenue in this town,” Bondurant added. “We need income. We just need income.”
