SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. - Kenneth Jordan hoped to have his Base Camp 222 bar operational before the National Cornbread Festival on April 27-29, but a delay in his beer permit application has put those plans in jeopardy.
At the April meeting of the South Pittsburg City Commission, city leaders moved to remedy the situation.
City Administrator Gene Vess said Jordan had properly applied for the permit and the city had it "in hand," but all three members of the town's beer board had their terms expire in February 2017.
Vess recommended city leaders revisit the beer board before the town issued any more beer permits.
"There's a difficulty in getting all three people to come to a beer board meeting and having a quorum," he said.
Mayor Virgil Holder said beer board members have customarily continued serving, whether or not their terms have expired, until someone else was officially appointed to replace them.
The beer board has had several meetings since February 2017, he said, and the South Pittsburg City Commission has followed their decisions after those sessions.
"So, I don't see why we could not let the current members meet and continue on as they have until we do appoint new members," Holder said.
City Attorney Billy Gouger said Holder's analysis of the beer board's status was exactly correct.
"Most other boards, under Tennessee law, they serve until successors are appointed and qualified even if their terms are expired," he said. "They're in a holdover situation. They can continue, legally, so long as they're not removed or move out of the city or pass away."
The city's beer board is part of the process when it comes to permit issuance, but Gouger said its members are advisory only.
In the end, he said a beer permit is issued by the city commission, regardless of the beer board's recommendation.
Police Chief Wayne Jordan said another reason Jordan's application has been delayed is that it got mixed in with some other paperwork, and he forgot about it.
He apologized to Jordan for the error and said it's not an excuse, just what happened.
"The dilemma that I face is that through an inadvertent oversight or simple negligence, the consequences are on me," Kenneth Jordan said. "I now face the prospect, through no fault of my own, that my rights and privileges as a citizen and as a businessperson could be denied. It doesn't seem fair to me that I should be the only one to take the adverse consequences."
Holder said he agreed.
"We are working hard to get businesses here in the city, and it's a shame that we're taking such long delays in getting you in business," he told Jordan. "Since we have drug our feet and waited so long about not getting things taken care of or looked into, [city leaders should] have those permits in place before the Cornbread Festival."
The board voted unanimously to request the beer board to meet by the end of this week.
Additionally, the board of commissioners will hold a special called meeting at city hall on April 19 at 4:30 p.m. CDT to hear the beer board's recommendation and consider Jordan's request.
Jordan said he would accept Holder's proposal as "an appropriate remedy."
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.