Another Local Option Effort Attempted

GRAND SALINE—Brad Smith and Clay Waymire relaxed Saturday afternoon as they sat and talked in front of the Moody’s Sand and Gravel office on Highway 80.

However, it had been a busy day for both of them.

The two men were assisting Grand Saline residents who were stopping by to sign a petition to bring a local option election for alcohol sales on the city ballot in May.

If successful in gaining enough valid signatures, it would mark the second time in six months for Grand Saline residents to decide whether they want to legalize beer, wine or liquor sales inside the city limits. Grand Saline and Fruitvale, which has its own petition drive under way, were both included in the November local option election for Van Zandt County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1.

All three alcohol sales proposals in that election failed. Proponents for legalized alcohol sales in Grand Saline hope there will be enough support among city residents for a different outcome this time.

"I’m definitely in favor of getting the issue on the ballot, anyway," Smith said.

He added that about 50 people, attracted by a lettered marquee sign referring to the petition, had stopped by to inquire about it. Some of those signed, Smith said.

"There were some, though, who lived outside the city and could not sign the petition," he said.

Several petition lists are in circulation in Grand Saline, Waymire noted, as supporters try to get enough valid signatures by the Jan. 19 deadline.

Waymire said legalized alcohol sales could give a much-needed boost to the city’s sales tax revenue allocation payments it receives each month from the Texas Comptroller’s Office. He said there is a strong reference point that can be found on the other end of the highway in Van Zandt County.

"I think you have to look at what Wills Point is doing now in sales tax. Their increase between 2008 and 2009 is considerable, and then you look at the rest of the county and everyone else is down except for Van," he said.

Wills Point legalized beer and wine sales by nearly a 2-to-1 margin last May. Although there is no official breakdown of local sales tax revenue from alcoholic beverage sales, Wills Point’s overall sales tax revenue increased by nearly $21,000 for sales since June — the first month for beer and wine sales in the city — compared to the same months in 2008.

With two more local option election petitions circulating, Danny Eason, president of the anti-alcohol sales group Concerned Citizens of Van Zandt County, is keeping a watchful eye.

"Right now, we are waiting for those petitions to be filed. Then there is a 30-day period for the signatures to be verified and we will get the results of all that," Eason said.

"With Wills Point, we won’t have to worry about that for now," he said, referencing a petition for alcohol sales in restaurants that failed due to a shortage of valid signatures. "We are going to see how those two (Grand Saline and Fruitvale) go, and hopefully that will happen there.

"If the petitions are valid and an election is set, we will meet to look at our options and what we are going to do," Eason said about the group’s future strategies to oppose passage of any of the alcohol sales proposals.

The failed precinct-wide election in November included proposals for beer and wine sales in stores, mixed beverage sales in restaurants and a proposal that would have allowed full package stores.

The supporters in Grand Saline and Fruitvale are trying to get the same three measures on their respective local ballots in May. Under state law, there is a one-year waiting period for local options that failed to be brought back to voters in the same jurisdiction, which is why the petition effort this time is being limited to the two cities.

Eason said he was not surprised to see alcohol sales supporters try again.

"There are those that would like alcohol sales and those who wouldn’t. Our hope was those elections in November would make a strong comment and that we would not have to deal with this again so soon," he said.

For now, Eason said, it is a waiting game for a few more weeks.

"All we can do is keep the faith and prayer going, and hope they (petitions) don’t go through," he said.