As part of its ongoing discussion concerning alcohol rules in the town, the Signal Mountain Town Council is discussing regulations for serving alcohol at events at the Mountain Arts Community Center.
Currently, a $250 permit must be obtained for each event where alcohol is served, and there must be a certified bartender even if there's no bar; for example, serving wine at a wedding.
Under the town's current regulations, nonprofits hosting fundraisers are treated as businesses, with the same regulations applying to them as to caterers serving alcohol at a birthday party or wedding, Town Manager Boyd Veal told councilors at their Aug. 12 meeting. Due to the cost of following those regulations, the return is not enough to make alcohol sales make sense for nonprofit fundraisers, he said.
With the MACC being town-owned, certain additional regulations apply to the sale of alcohol there, but Veal said the state wouldn't care one way or another if a nonprofit or an instructor wanted to have wine at an event or class since it wouldn't involve a for-profit business.
"It boils down to our comfort level and what do we want or not want," he said of non-businesses serving alcohol at the MACC.
The Signal Mountain Elementary Preservation Fund is an independent nonprofit dedicated to the historic building's upkeep, and Councilwoman Susannah Murdock said she thinks the town should make it easier for the group to sell beer and wine at its fundraisers at MACC.
"That's a huge component for them as they try to raise money to enhance the facility," she said.
The volunteer group behind the preservation fund entered into an agreement with the town this spring to help cover costs for a massive ongoing renovation to the nearly 100-year-old building - and costs keep rising.
At the same meeting, fund President Angie Landrum requested additional money from the town to help cover the cost of a new HVAC system for the MACC theater, estimated to cost around $50,000, as well as electrical support for the system, an additional $14,000. She said the preservation fund has already raised $35,500 of the cost, and requested that the town cover the remainder until the group raises enough money over the next year to reimburse the town.
Landrum said they would like to put in the HVAC system now, as it would need to be installed prior to moving forward with putting in new ceiling tiles and moving the seats back into the auditorium.
Veal said that because the cost of the project is more than $50,000, the town is required to hire an engineer to design the system. The engineering cost is an additional $7,650.
At its Aug. 26 meeting, the town council tabled a resolution authorizing Veal to sign a memorandum of agreement between the town and the preservation fund which would allow the town to move forward with the engineering and put the project out to bid. Town Attorney Harry Cash said he would prefer that the resolution be passed by a quorum of the council that does not include Mayor Dan Landrum, who is married to Angie Landrum, and Vice Mayor Amy Speek and Councilman Bill Lusk were not present.
Funding the project would require a budget amendment or reconsideration of other facility maintenance projects currently in the budget, said Veal. Though estimated at roughly $72,000, the exact cost of the project will not be known until after bids come back.
Angie Landrum said the organization plans to pay the town back with funds requested from corporations that support the arts or have connections to the town, as well as through coffee house concerts at the MACC and other fundraising events.
The council expects to vote on the MOA resolution at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.