Alcohol sales to ‘dry’ pocket pushed by neighboring cities

After years of fighting a longstanding liquor sales ban in Jacksonville and Sherwood, city officials in Pulaski County’s two neighboring cities are preparing for what they believe is their best opportunity to usher in alcohol sales to a “dry” pocket in an otherwise “wet” county.

Legislation passed during this year’s regular session, Act 144, allows the Jacksonville and Sherwood city councils to call a special election regarding alcohol sales in Gray Township, an old voting district that spans a majority of Jacksonville, a portion of Sherwood and a sliver of unincorporated Pulaski County.

The special election would mark the first time voters in Gray Township would consider altering their local alcohol sales ban since it was passed in the mid-1950s.

Voting districts across the county were abolished by the mid-1980s, but their alcohol rules remained in place. Only voters within the original boundaries of Gray Township, which stands at 23,922 voters today, can reverse the 60-yearold ban that prohibits the sale of alcohol.

City councils in Sherwood and Jacksonville plan to consider ordinances in mid- to late summer that would allow alcohol sales in their cities, according to officials in both cities. If passed, the ordinances would allow the election commission to call an election this fall, either Oct. 10 or Nov. 14, according to the county clerk’s office.

The election would ask voters to allow restaurants to serve alcohol by the drink. Bars, clubs, liquor stores and strip clubs would not be allowed within the township’s limits, and grocery stores and gas stations would not be allowed to sell wine or beer.

Restaurants also would be required to derive no more than 30 percent of their sales from alcohol.

“We’ve been talking about doing this for years,” said Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, who believes the city’s growth has been stunted without the jobs and revenue generated by such restaurants.

“This is not just about alcohol, as it is about economic development and creating opportunities to rebuild and redefine our downtown area,” he said.

Fletcher said he and his economic development team have traveled across the country looking for restaurant and hotel chains to recruit to Jacksonville.

“When they realize you’re in a dry area, you can almost see a wall go up,” Fletcher said. “You’ve got thousands of cities that are wanting their business. Why go somewhere that’s automatically dry? Because that’s where they make their money.”

State Rep. Bob Johnson, D-Jacksonville — who sponsored the recent legislation — called it “upgrading your curb appeal” for those traveling the U.S. 67/167 corridor.

“You’ll have new businesses, it will mean more people will want to live here, more things to do,” Johnson said. “It’s time for us to grow.”

City leaders in Jacksonville and Sherwood are coordinating to create a single campaign aimed at convincing voters to pass the change.

The issue would have to pass in both cities for alcohol to be sold throughout the township. If voters in one city approve the sale but it fails in the other city, it would simply shrink the dry pocket.

“There are restaurants moving into Sherwood, like the new Saltgrass that will be coming in here soon, but they’re all moving south” of the district’s southwest boundary, Sherwood Alderman Beverly Williams said. “Our residents that are north need to have the same access to amenities. There’s no need for them to leave our city and let that sales tax benefit surrounding cities.”

Currently, the only exception to the alcohol sales ban in Gray Township is through the state’s private-club law. Originating in the 1960s, the law was created to allow country clubs, veterans clubs and fraternal lodges to obtain alcohol permits in dry counties.