After years of discussion about updating the city's code governing wrecker companies on the city's call list, the Chattanooga Beer & Wrecker Board voted to forward a proposal -- and it would double the cost of daytime and weekend towing rates.
The changes were originally presented to the board at its Sept. 15 meeting, but it voted to allow for more public input at its next meeting, which was Thursday.
There was no pubic comment at the meeting, but Chattanooga Councilwoman Raquetta Dotley, of East Lake, told the board the proposal will likely now go before a strategic planning committee on Oct. 18.
The committee could recommend further study by an independent group before being presented to the City Council, which has final say in any changes to the city's code.
A group of wrecker company owners and managers has been working together for several years to get the entire code updated, but this proposal only deals with rates -- which have not been updated in 18 years. Dotley and Mark Shackleford, owner of Shackleford Towing, said talks will continue regarding other proposed changes.
The proposal includes a fee increase of weekly daytime tows from $125 to $250 and weekend tows from $135 to $274. Daily storage rates would also increase from $15 a day to $35.
The board also voted to pass until its next meeting on Oct. 20 an application for a beer permit for Worldwide Ministries, doing business as The Pony at 115 Honest St.
Attorney Brent James told the board it was "just a bar," but after board member Dan Mayfield said he had Googled the names of owners Charles G. Westlund, Harry V. Mohney and Kenneth J. Kummerow, he had some questions about their backgrounds, including alleged arrest reports and dealings in the adult entertainment industry, in other states including California and Nevada.
James said they own 71 clubs across the country and said The Pony would eventually become a bikini bar. Board member Vince Butler asked if the owners and the application had been properly vetted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is standard procedure, and by the city attorney's office as it relates to an adult establishment such as a bikini bar.
City Attorney Kathryn McDonald said she was just hearing of the bikini bar aspect of the application and would need to check on any code issues, so the board voted to pass the application until the next meeting.
During the public comments portion of the meeting Jesse Kinsey, owner of Silhouettes Bikini Sports Bar & Grill on East 23rd Street, told the board he'd been operating his bikini bar for 11 years without incident because he treats his customers and employees well. He said he did not think the owners of The Pony would and advised against allowing the club to open in Chattanooga.
Also during the public comments section, local activist Charlie Wysong questioned the appropriateness of minors attending an event at the local bar and restaurant WanderLinger Brewing Co. His question was apparently in reference to an issue related to an edited video that surfaced online following separate events at the establishment on Sept. 24.
In the video a young girl is seen running her hand over the sequined dress of a person dressed as the Disney mermaid Ariel. Several misleading posts on conservative news websites and on social media indicated the person was a man, but it was a woman. The WanderLinger event featured arts and crafts, drag queen story time and a family-friendly show.
Board Chairwoman Monica Kinsey told Wysong the board is a regulatory board charged with hearing any violations of the city's code brought before it by the Chattanooga Police Department, and since no violations have been filed, there was nothing to discuss.
"I got it," Wysong said, then he sat down.
The board also approved applications to sell beer for Element Hotel on Center Street, Lipman Brothers distribution and O'Dell's on the Go on Cummings Highway.
It also approved special permits for Drink and Discover on Oct. 21 at The Creative Discovery Museum, Fire Up the Fields on Oct. 22 at Sculpture Fields, the ChattaJack paddleboard event on Oct. 22, Hoptown Beer Bar Oktoberfest on Oct. 15 and the VW Octoberfest on Oct. 17 at Village Volkswagen of Chattanooga.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com