Ringgold liquor referendum on thin ice

Wine bottles are displayed at Imbibe Chattanooga, a wine-focused liquor store, on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Wine bottles are displayed at Imbibe Chattanooga, a wine-focused liquor store, on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Developer Alvin Mashburn's effort to bring liquor stores to Ringgold, Ga., is in crunch time.

To put a referendum on the November ballot, asking voters if they want to allow package liquor stores in the city, Mashburn has to collect 698 signatures by the end of next week. That represents 35 percent of the voter turnout in the 2015 city election. Earlier this week, one of Mashburn's employees said they had gathered about 150 signatures.

As a last-ditch effort, Mashburn will host a petition- signing event at Wrath Brewery on RBC Drive from 7-9 p.m. today, hoping enough people will show up to inch them closer to their goal. Volunteers also will go door-to-door, hoping to gin up enough interest.

"It's something that would really be beneficial to the area," said Mashburn, who wants to open a liquor store on Battlefield Parkway. "If people want to drink, they're going to drink. It don't matter how far they got to go to get it."

Catoosa County Elections Superintendent Tonya Moore said earlier this week that Mashburn needed to gather all the signatures by Sept. 1, meaning his effort likely was dead in the water. Even though the election isn't until Nov. 7, election workers need time to build a ballot.

But after speaking with Mashburn, Moore called a ballot builder at Kennesaw State University. While they are working through ballots for several municipal elections, Moore said, they agreed to move the Ringgold election down to the end of their order. That means Mashburn has more time to collect signatures. Moore has given him a new deadline: Sept. 8.

Mashburn said he plans to open a liquor store on Battlefield Parkway, just east of Interstate 75. It would be in a complex next to the Farm to Fork restaurant, across Smitherman Road from the Hampton Inn.

He said he is planning to invest $1 million in the business. He believes it will be successful, saving locals trips to Dalton or Chattanooga.

Mashburn also helped with a petition to allow liquor by the drink in Ringgold in 2000, he said, believing the effort would bring better restaurants to town. This time around, he recruited somebody to gather signatures this summer. However, Mashburn later realized the worker hadn't done any of the work.

This led to his current predicament: Moving in fast forward. If they can't gather signatures in time, he will have to start over next year. The signatures do not hold over, he said.

If the referendum gets on the ballot and actually passes, Mashburn said, he is not sure how he could obtain a license to open his store. The city does not have any policies on the issue yet. Mayor Nick Millwood wanted to flesh out the liquor license laws here in the last couple of months, though some council members want to wait until after the election, if at all.

Tim Swaney, who is trying to gather signatures for Mashburn, said he still optimistic they can get the job done in time this week.

"We're not trying to change people's behaviors or anything," he said. "If they're going to buy the drinks, it might as well be in Ringgold."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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