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County leaders at odds over alcohol permit requests

By Lisa Majors-Duff
Approving a request for a liquor license outside town limits should be the job of the entire board of commissioners, one member says.

Commissioner Roberta Crawford made the comment following a similar statement made during a meeting of the board April 20 by Sylva dentist Hillar Kollist. Speaking during a portion of the meeting reserved for informal comments, Kollist condemned the action of Cullowhee restaurant owners Paul and Brian McClure for remaking J. Edwards into a sports club. He further denounced the board chairman, Jay Denton, for taking the responsibility for approving the McClure's request.

"You are a group of five, and I find it a bit arrogant for one of you not to include the others," Kollist said.

State alcoholic beverage regulations allow for the sale of beer, wine and mixed drinks in special areas classified private associations or clubs even when the county as a whole does not allow such sales. In these cases, the approval of a local official is required before an application can be passed on to the state level for review.

In Jackson County that approval has been the sole responsibility of the alcohol information officer, who, until her retirement last month, was Myrtle Schrader. Since the position had not been filled when the request from the McClure brothers was made, county Manager Jay Denton approved the document.

"I don't feel that J. Edwards should be allowed to sell alcohol," Crawford said. "And such a controversial thing should come before the board of commissioners. I don't think an employee of Jackson County should be asked to make such decisions. That's what we were elected to do."

Crawford, who works for Kollist in his Sylva practice, said she plans to write a letter in opposition of J. Edwards receiving a permanent license to those in the state Alcohol Law Enforcement agency investigating the case. The restaurant, which recently added a tennis court to its location on Little Savannah Road, has been granted a temporary ABC license and is now selling memberships and mixed drinks to its customers.

Denton told The Herald at the time he signed the McClure's request that the brothers "are filling a real need in Jackson County. I favor new types of businesses."

Another commissioner, Franz Whitmire, agreed with Crawford that alcohol "would not be healthy for the (Cullowhee) community" because of the restaurant's proximity to Western Carolina University. Whitmire admitted that sales of alcohol in his district - southern Jackson County - have probably increased the economy of the area, but, he said, alcohol is not needed "that close to campus."

As far as the entire county board reviewing requests for alcohol permits, Whitmire did not agree with his colleague because "the state has the ultimate authority on the issue," he said.

Commissioner Conrad Burrell supported Denton's decision to approve J. Edward's request for an alcohol permit. "Jay had a perfect right to do what he did," Burrell said. "Only one local official was needed, and he did what he thought was right."

In addition, Burrell said, no one in the community has expressed to him, other than Kollist, any opposition to the Cullowhee restaurant's sale of alcohol.

Commissioner Stacy Buchanan, who was out of town during the April 20 board meeting, critized the state law for allowing alcohol sales in a dry county.

"The whole law circumvents what should be the people's right to decide," Buchanan said. "I disgree with the entire law; therefore, it is irrelevant as far as I am concerned whether it was one or five asked to sign the request."

Commissioners Buchanan, Crawford, Burrell and Whitmire all said they learned about the J. Edwards move toward selling alcoholic beverage when the report was published in The Herald.

Back to Archive: 04/27/00.