Folks hoping to apply for one of the limited slots to operate a liquor store in Dayton, Tenn., have until the end of the month to submit their paperwork.
Dayton leaders in June drafted the rules for package liquor sales allowed under a referendum voters passed in April.
City leaders waited until after the April 19 election to begin working on the process in case the referendum was rejected, but election records show the proposal passed with 66 percent of the vote. They decided to limit the number of stores to three, to be chosen in a lottery.
Dayton voters approved liquor by the drink in 2012 and a wine-in-grocery-stores referendum last November.
Mayor Gary Louallen said Friday at least 18 applications had been picked up, but none have been turned back in yet. The deadline is 5 p.m. July 31. Applicants must pay a $250 nonrefundable fee to file the application and associated paperwork.
The city attorney and police department will review the applicants and paperwork, and those who qualify for the drawing will be contacted Sept. 5, he said.
"The lottery drawing is set for Sept. 15 at 2 p.m. at City Hall," Louallen said. Qualifying applicants will be narrowed by a third-party firm - Neal, Scouten & McConnell, P.C., in Chattanooga - to avoid any possibility of favoritism.
Louallen is concerned about requirements that applicants must have secured a location for their stores, creating extra expense on top of the application fee.
"But according to state law that's a requirement that has to be on there," Louallen said.
"This has been a lot of trouble for a small issue," he said of the regulations. "I'm like [1950s TV detective] Joe Friday, I'm just going to stick to the facts."
Other rules require applicants to have lived in Rhea County for at least a year, and say no store can be closer than 100 feet to a church, school, hospital or other public gathering place, or 500 feet of another store, documents show.
Applications can be obtained at Dayton City Hall on First Avenue.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.