Published: November 17, 2008 04:36 pm         

Don't look for liquor stores in Crossville until 2009

The first local liquor stores in over 60 years will not be coming to Crossville until well after the first of the new year 2009 based on details of the city's application process given by city attorney Ken Chadwell at the Crossville City Council's regular November meeting held Nov. 13.

Application packages for potential licensees will be available at Crossville City Hall this Wednesday, Nov. 19, and completed paperwork must be turned in no later then Jan. 9, 2009.

Chadwell gave a explanation of how the city plans to handle the process to the standing room only crowd that wanted to know what to expect and have crowded into council chambers for the last two city council meetings.

“This is a new process for the city,” explained Chadwell, “and we are trying to figure out how to fairly and constitutionally select the city's first package store licensees.”

While the third and final reading of the city's intoxicating liquors ordinance was scheduled for a special-called meeting Monday morning, Crossville city clerk Sally Oglesby said copies of the application and final ordinance will not be available until Wednesday. The council previously decided to limit the number of package stores in the city to three while the final application fee still remained to be decided.

Chadwell said Thursday that once the application packages are released then the city will set a deadline for the all applications to be returned for the city. According to Oglesby in a weekend e-mail to news media, that deadline to return the completed applications will be Friday, Jan. 9, 2009

To make sure the applications meet all the requirements, necessary background checks will be performed after the applications are received. Applications that have met all the requirements and had their information confirmed will take part in a double blind lottery drawing that will choose three applications and at least three alternates.

A representative from all approved applications will choose a number from one of two sets of identical numbers and keep that number to themselves. The city will then draw from the other set of numbers with the first three numbers the winning applicants and the next three the alternates in case they are not approved by the state alcoholic beverage commission. Chadwell said the city hopes to hold this drawing at a regular city council meeting so they are looking at calendars and deadlines.

Once the applicants are selected, they will have a period of time to then secure a location for their store. Originally the applicants would have had to decide where there store would be located before the application was returned to the city, but because the city expects that there will be many more applicants then licensees chosen by lottery, the possibility of having more than one store in a similar location came up.

The first three applications drawn will be given a further deadline to secure a store location that meets the city's requirements and must have the location information on their proposed store turned in to the city by another deadline that will be given at that time.

Once all that process is complete, the application packages will then go on to the Tennessee ABC for their approval. If any of the license applications are unsuccessful at the ABC process the next alternate application drawn will have a shot.

Also at the council meeting, the city expressed their thanks to members of the Master Gardeners group for their work on landscaping the front of the city hall building. The Master Gardeners were called in by the Crossville Beautification Committee because of their work on other projects including the Crossville welcome signs.

The group designed the new raised planting beds and included a water harvesting drip irrigation system designed with help from the Obed Watershed group. The system is like a large rain barrel that uses water from the city hall roof to water the plantings.

The Master Gardeners program is sponsored by the University of Tennessee Extension Service. The all volunteer organization promotes horticulture through teaching and putting skills into practice.