Almost one year after the passage and subsequent veto of Alderman Lee Beck’s proposed amendment to the Starkville beer ordinance, his second proposal for a new ordinance was passed by the Board of Aldermen and signed by Mayor Mack Rutledge. The new ordinance will allow Starkville restaurants and bars to sell beer and light wine until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays-one hour later than the midnight limit of the current ordinance. The board voted 4-2 on Aug. 20 in favor of adopting the ordinance. Aldermen Roy Perkins, Lee Beck, Mac McLaurin and Sumner Davis voted in favor of the ordinance. Aldermen Vic Zitta and Frank Davis voted against it. Alderman Virgil Bolin abstained because two family members own a local restaurant affected by a the ordinance. Beck proposed the vote, and Perkins seconded.
Rutledge signed the ordinance the next day.
“This ordinance went one extra hour instead of two hours. (The first amendment) did not clean up some of the redundancies and obsolete portions of the old ordinance, which was accomplished by this repeal. It’s a new ordinance that is shorter, more to the point and more manageable,” he said.
Thirty days must pass before a new ordinance becomes effective, so the new beer ordinance will officially go into effect Thursday, Sept. 19, and come into practice the next day.
At the meeting, Danny Holland, owner of The Bar Formerly Known as Cheers, came forward stating that he did not necessarily support the ordinance as it was. He said he also supported extending hours on the nights of sporting events and other special events such as concerts.
“Mississippi State has a lot of great concerts on Wednesday nights, and I think everyone should be able to benefit from that,” Holland said. “That was what I was trying to get across, but I’m all for (the new ordinance). I think this is going to do wonders. It’s a huge stride in a direction other than backward.”
Student Association President Parker Wiseman also spoke to the board at the meeting.
“This is not something I enjoy talking about,” Wiseman told the board, “But it is an issue where I feel my opinion should be known, as this is obviously an issue which concerns (MSU) students.”
Wiseman said the ordinance itself was only a small part of the larger issue of “building a bridge between the university students and the city.”
He added that those wishing to paint MSU in a bad light often imply that the city of Starkville and the university cannot get along.
“This (ordinance) is one issue that is a minor part of that,” Wiseman said.
After the vote, Wiseman called the passage of the ordinance “an important step” in improving city and university relations.
“The real discussion on this took place last year around this time,” Wiseman said. “The student support was overwhelming. Students were not afraid to speak out on the issue, and I think they did so with class and dignity. We came out with the short end of the stick then, but I think the students respected the decision and waited for better things.”
Before the council voted, Beck clarified several misconceptions about the ordinance. He said the ordinance would help to reconcile the city law with state law, did not change the minimum distance from a church or school alcohol could be sold and did not change the city policy of not selling cold beer in non-eating establishments.
MSU senior Aaron Boldrey said he was very excited about the new policy.
“Everyone wants to stay out a bit later, he said. “I’ve been here so long I’d actually gotten used to going out at 9 (p.m.) and coming home at midnight. Some of my friends in other college towns don’t even go out until midnight, because their bars stay open until 3 or 4 (a.m.),” he said. “I guess I can go out at 10 (p.m.) now,” he added.
Lindsey Carpenter, a senior in wildlife and fisheries, said of the ordinance, “I think it’s good. It seems like a compromise with the younger crowds. I think students will see the city is trying to hear them.