Council mulls Sunday alcohol sales

MILTON — The Milton City Council will soon vote on whether to approve language regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday for the November General Election.

As a recommendation from the city’s Growth, Development and Annexation Committee, the council was presented on Monday with the following language, which could be placed on a ballot: “Should the City Council of the City of Milton, Florida amend the Milton Code of Ordinances to provide for Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages? YES or NO.”

The recommendation received two nay votes from council members Patsy Lunsford and Grady Hester. Since the vote was not unanimous, the recommendation will be voted on again as a separate item from the consent agenda during Tuesday’s regular council meeting. It’s set for 5 p.m. at Milton City Hall.

Lunsford said she does not intend to change her stance.

“I am very passionate about the way I feel about it,” she said. “There is a few people who are going to make a whole lot of money from it and there is a lot of people who are going to die from alcohol and … it’s just not worth it.”

Lunsford said she lost a family member to alcohol dependency, and fears further alcohol sales would have a negative impact on Milton, particularly downtown.

“I want everything family-oriented down there,” she said. “If we have more and more alcohol down there, it’s going to be like New Orleans. We don’t need an image like New Orleans in Milton.”

The council received similar input from Dr. Greg Robards, Hickory Hammock Baptist Church’s senior associate pastor.

“This is a matter that I am particularly passionate about,” he said. “We had a permanent scar on the heart of our church family from a drunk driving incident years ago. Two young girls were driving to church on a Sunday night and were killed in a head-on accident by a drunk driver … There is nothing good that comes from this.”

Councilman Jimmy Messick said the council previously decided to allow the public to vote on the issue.

“We decided as a council that it would be better if the majority of the people in the city of Milton made that decision or the majority of the ones that vote,” Messick said. “If the majority of the people will vote, whichever way it comes out, is what the city will do. This wording is just to put it on the ballot for them to say yes or no.”

City Manager Brian Watkins said the vote would not change the existing ordinance — only provide the council with a consensus of what residents want.

“It technically does not change anything; it will just give (the council) information about what the people think,” he said.