Starkville residents may soon be able to mix church and pleasure upon the approval of a resolution by the Board of Aldermen to allow Sunday alcohol sales from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The 4-3 decision by the board now awaits formal approval by Mayor Parker Wiseman and the Mississippi Tax Commission.
Aldermen Ben Carver, Roy Perkins and Henry Vaughn voted against the resolution. Richard Corey, Jeremiah Dumas, Eric Parker and Sandra Sistrunk voted in the proposal’s favor.
Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas originally presented the notion of Sunday sales and said he expects the ordinance to begin on Sept. 20.
“I am confident that Mayor Wiseman will not veto the ordinance and am pretty confident about the Tax Commission,” Dumas said. “We – the city – will have a 30-day waiting period for the ordinance to take effect.”
Specifics of the bill include restaurants more than 250 feet from the property line of a church, funeral home or school being able to serve beer, liquor and wine by the glass. Dumas said grocery stores will also be able to sell beer.
“The state of Mississippi won’t allow you to sell liquor or wine on Sundays, but stores here in Starkville will be able to sell beer,” he said.
The ground-breaking vote was made in front of an overflowing crowd at City Hall Tuesday. While the bill did have a number of supporters in attendance, a majority of those present spoke out against Sunday sales.
Starkville resident Grady Dixon stood before the board as a proponent for Sunday sales and said it is a civil liberties issue that allows for citizens to make their own decisions.
“I have heard a lot of people saying that if this passes ‘Maybe we should smoke crack or drive one hundred miles per hour on Sundays too’,” Dixon said. “The difference between that and this [the Sunday sales ordinance], is you’re not able to smoke crack the other six days of the week.”
Former Republican mayoral candidate Marnita Henderson opposed the ordinance and said the aldermen will bear responsibility for any alcohol-related accidents on Sundays.
“Your hands are no longer clean,” Henderson said. “This is not about tax revenue but for business owners who want to line their pockets for the almighty dollar.”
Alderman Roy Perkins echoed Henderson’s comments while also bringing religion into the at-times contentious discussion. Perkins said he found no reason for the newly elected board to take on such a controversial issue and even stood up to a crowd hollering “amen” and “hallelujah” to his statements.
“Before we can even get our seats warmed up, we are talking about a whisky bill,” Perkins said. “We are about Christianity on Sundays. We are not going to be a leader in whiskey sales.”
Members of the MSU community appear just as divided on whether drinking alcohol on Sunday is a good idea.
Junior communication major Tierra McCoy said she finds the ordinance conflicting with her religious beliefs.
“I wouldn’t buy alcohol on Sundays just because it’s a day of worship,” McCoy said. “I wouldn’t use my reasons not to buy alcohol to hinder anyone else from doing it though.”
Diane Godwin, Technical writer for the Bagley College of Engineering, said she would not rule out a Sunday drink.
“I think it will be economically a good thing for the city of Starkville, and you need to separate church and state when dealing with issues such as this,” Godwin said.
As the ordinance inches closer to reality, Starkville stands to garner attention from national chain restaurants that were reluctant to build with only six day sales.
Robin Fant, Partner of Eat With Us Corporation based in Columbus, said he welcomes the ordinance and the competition.
“Sunday sales will just add to the quality of life in Starkville,” Fant said. “We believe that more options just lead our guest to eat out more often, therefore helping to drive the economy.”
As the city takes a progressive step with Sunday sales, Dumas said the new board has its work cut out for them.
“Nothing should be as controversial as Sunday sales but more important than this ordinance,” Dumas said.