For nearly four decades, Chattanooga's Beer and Wrecker Board has overseen the licensing and regulation of bars and tow trucks, but soon the board is set to split.
The Beer and Wrecker Board was established in the 1980s out of administrative convenience for the Chattanooga Police Department, according to Chris Anderson, Mayor Tim Kelly's senior adviser for legislative initiatives. The idea to split the board is part of the administration's efforts to update the city's more outdated operations and codes, he said in a phone interview.
"We've certainly modernized a lot of the ordinances, and this is just coming up next on the list to take something that doesn't make sense and make it make sense," he said.
If the split is authorized by the Chattanooga City Council, the Beer Board would become its own entity and retain the members of the Beer and Wrecker Board, Anderson said. The Wrecker Board would join with the Passenger Vehicle For Hire Board to become the Transportation Board and would retain the members of the Passenger Vehicle for Hire Board. The PVH Board oversees all vehicles for hire such as taxis, limousines, shuttles, horse-drawn carriages, pedal carriages and rickshaws, according to city code.
While the Beer and Wrecker Board has previously received criticism for its rulings from bar owners and staff, such as those from Blue Light and Shady's Corner, the idea to split the board was not motivated by the outcome of any of its prior cases, Anderson said. The idea has been in the works for about a year and is more about where city tow truck regulation belongs, he said.
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The Beer and Wrecker Board's agenda is more occupied by beer cases than wrecker cases, and the PVH Board has a lighter agenda overall, Anderson said. So, splitting the board and combining the Wrecker Board with the PVH Board makes sense operationally because the PVH Board has more capacity to handle the wrecker caseload, he said. PVH Board Chair Sandra Gurgone declined to comment when asked after the board's regular meeting Oct. 5, citing her lack of knowledge about the reorganization.
"I think both boards will operate more efficiently, and I think both boards will make more sense to the public, which is really what we're supposed to be doing here in the first place," Anderson said of the split. "We're supposed to be serving citizens, and if this change makes it easy for citizens to interact with their government, then we've done our job."
The split is a mostly regulatory change, Anderson said. Those with business before the Beer Board should not notice any changes to the board's operations, and the only change wrecker operators will notice is that the people ruling on their cases are different, he said.
As for the beer and wrecker codes themselves, only the beer ordinance is set to be revised, Anderson said. The wrecker code will remain the same since it was updated within the past year, he said. Like the board split, some changes to the beer code are motivated by efforts to modernize, he said.
"It has some fairly antiquated provisions in it such as requiring businesses to call from a landline telephone to report disorders, which we know today is not always the most efficient way to call the police," Anderson said.
There will also be more legal guidance given to the Beer Board, Anderson said. Anderson has consulted Beer and Wrecker Board Chair Monica Kinsey for feedback, but she is otherwise not involved in the board split and code changes, he said. Kinsey declined to comment when asked after the board's regular meeting on Oct. 5.
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Anderson said both the board split and code revision are forthcoming, but he does not have a date yet for when either would be on the City Council's agenda. Chattanooga City Council Chair Raquetta Dotley did not respond to requests for comment by press time Friday.
Contact Sam Still at sstill@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6579.