By Hugh Fisher
hfisher@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY —Wednesday’s called meeting of the Granite Quarry Board of Aldermen ended with a vote to have a referendum on liquor by the drink sales.
The special election will take place on Sept. 18 or 25, according to Town Manager Daniel Peters.
The Rowan County Board of Elections will officially set the date, Peters said.
And, after the meeting, El Acapulco Mexican Restaurant co-owner Jeff Stogner made good on his pledge to donate money to the town to help offset the cost.
He wrote out a check to Peters for $1,800 — the bulk of the cost of holding the referendum.
The cost of holding a special election — estimated at between $2,200 and $2,500 — has been a sticking point in discussions.
Although there was a consensus that voters should be able to decide the alcohol-sales issue, Aldermen Eloise Peeler and Jim LaFevers had been opposed to using taxpayer money to fund the election.
On July 2, the Board of Aldermen decided not to pursue the matter until October, which would mean the vote would not be possible before the end of the year.
Stogner, meanwhile, had expressed willingness to pay some or all of the costs involved.
Aldermen cited the potential negative impact on the restaurant in agreeing to hold the special meeting and press forward.
Mayor Mary Ponds, who is in Georgia with her family this week, moderated the meeting by telephone.
Only two members of the public spoke to the matter, Stogner and Robert Anderson.
Both were in favor of the referendum being allowed to proceed.
Brad Kluttz said the decision to hold the called meeting was because of a consensus among members that they should revisit the issue.
“As of last Friday evening, it was the consensus of the board that they wanted to call this meeting, not just me,” Kluttz said. “Three people on this board said they wanted to call this meeting.”
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Feather pointed to figures showing the fact that El Acapulco generates thousands of dollars in tax revenues each year, including revenue from alcohol sales already permitted in the town.
He spoke favorably of Stogner’s offer to help fund the vote.
Otherwise, he said, the law would permit voters to demand an election.
If 703 registered voters in Granite Quarry signed a petition asking for a referendum, Feather said, the Board of Elections would hold one.
And the town would have to foot the entire bill, Feather said.
Alderman Jim LaFevers said he and his wife have eaten at El Acapulco and hope the business succeeds.
But, he said, he opposed using any amount of taxpayers’ money to fund the referendum.
Alderman Eloise Peeler said she had no comments on the issue.
Kluttz told his colleagues that, in light of the fact they’d voted last meeting to pay $5,000 for a business consultant to help recruit jobs, the small amount at stake here seemed reasonable to support existing businesses.
“It’s complicated,” he said.
Ponds called for a motion. Feather moved to fund the referendum; Kluttz seconded.
The motion passed, 3-1, with LaFevers voting against.
A separate vote to present a resolution to the Board of Elections formally requesting the referendum passed with support from all four members present.
In Ponds’ absence, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Feather was authorized to execute the resolution and deliver it to the Board of Elections. The meeting adjourned with no further business discussed.
Asked if his business could have survived a delay until January, Stogner said, “I don’t work on ifs. It could have caused — I mean, I have a lot of customers that come in and leave.”
He has maintained that customers leave his restaurant when they learn they can’t order margaritas
“This is going to allow us a chance to at least be equal with Salisbury,” Stogner said.
Voters in Granite Quarry voted down liquor by the drink the last time it was on the ballot, in 2004, by a margin of just eight votes — 92 against, 84 in favor.
Contact Hugh Fisher via the editor’s desk at 704-797-4244.