That’s the message Tim Clark, the spokesman for local group pushing for a “Yes” vote on March 23 to allow the limited sale of alcohol in Leitchfield, wants to get across to local residents and voters.
Clark leads “Citizens For Economic Growth”, a group who has been responsible for organizing and submitting a petition that forced the Grayson County Fiscal Court into setting a “Limited 100” vote that will allow for the legal sale of alcohol in Leitchfield. The “Limited 100” vote means that only restaurants who can sit more than 100 people and of which 70 percent of their gross revenue comes from food sales can apply to sell alcohol by the drink.
Clark said he has a tremendous amount of respect for folks in Leitchfield and Grayson County who are against the limited sale of alcohol in Leitchfield during a one-on-one interview with the News-Gazette Monday.
“First I would like to say that we as a group have a lot of respect for the Citizens Against Alcohol, “ he said. “They are a group with good intentions and I admire their efforts and concerns for the community. “
But he also said he believes it is critical the citizens of this city to come together as a community to take a very real look at the facts the city is facing with the decision to be made with the March 23 vote.
“Cities like Elizabethtown have provided information that shows Limited 100 has provided the city with an additional $159,000 to its budget. These funds came from regulatory fees and license from the 26 restaurants in 2008,” said Clark. “ In addition taxes from food sales equaled $29.2 million and another $3 million for alcohol and this does not count the city taxes that were paid by the people employed at these restaurants. “
In addition to adding revenue, Clark says other cities that have recently approved the Limited 100 measure show alcohol-related accidents and DUI arrests have remained the same or decreased.
“But let’s look at cities that are closer in size to Leitchfield like Corbin, London, Harrodsburg and Franklin,” said Clark. “The city of London received $110,000 to its budget from regulatory and licenses in 2008. Corbin received $78,000 and again none of this was tax revenue from the sale of food, alcohol or employment taxes.”
The vote that will take place on March 23 is completely different from the all or nothing vote that residents have voted on before.
“Local option ‘Limited 100’ is completely different,” Clark continued. “This gives communities a tool that can help them begin to see growth that is controlled and tightly governed.
“This growth benefits the community without changing the landscape drastically and allows communities to be proud when visitors come to town and in fact this will draw visitors to spend money in our town. These visitors provide opportunities for jobs, increased property value and increased revenue to the city’s budget,” he said.
“We can no longer afford to accept things as they are,” Clark maintained. “With unemployment at 16 percent, farm land that was once productive now sits idle. We have become a community that produces closed factories, empty retail stores and reduced property values, instead of the vibrant community with jobs that produced goods sold across America and the world, like we once were.”
The “Limited 100” vote has made its way across the state in several cities since its inception in 2000.
Information from the Kentucky League of Cities Clark showed the possible growth that may come from the “Limited 100” initiative.
Kuttawa in Lyon County has added 84 jobs, Murray has added 1,055 jobs, Georgetown added 333 jobs since these communities approved the sale of alcohol with the “Limited 100” vote in 2000.
London added 363 jobs and Franklin added 87 since their vote in 2004.
“In the last eight years, 79 percent of announcements made for major economic development have been made in and around communities that have qualities of life such as ‘Limited 100’ sales,” said Clark. “We are losing our role as a competitive business recruiting community. We are losing because people and businesses are skipping over Leitchfield and going directly to places like Elizabethtown, London and Corbin to dine, shop and live.”
There will be meeting of the group opposing the vote on Tuesday evening. See Saturday’s edition of the News-Gazette for details of that meeting.
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