Voters could vote on alcohol sales in June

PHIL CAMPBELL – Residents of Phil Campbell are one step closer to voting on whether or not they want to allow alcohol to be sold in the city.
Mayor Jerry Mays told council members Tuesday night that a petition asking for alcohol sales to be allowed in the city was turned in Tuesday.
Town Clerk Ann Bragwell will have to qualify the  names on the petition before sending it to the Probate Office in order to hold the referendum.
“They will qualify the names as well, and the vote will be held,” Bragwell said.
Mays asked that the paperwork be turned into the Probate Office by May 1 so the alcohol vote can be held the same day as the primary elections on June 1.
Bragwell said the town will have to pay for the ballots for the vote and the machine used that night.
“We can use the same poll officials if we have the election the same day as the primary but we will have to get our own watcher,” Bragwell said.
Mays said having the vote the same day as the primary will save the town the extra expense of having a special election.
The town currently has 600 registered voters.
A new state law allows towns with populations of 1,000 or more to hold elections allowing alcohol sales if a petition receives names totaling 30 percent of the registered voters who cast a ballot in the last municipal election.
Phil Campbell’s petition only needed about 30 names on it.
A similar petition has been circulated in Russellville, but it is still unclear whether that petition will have the number of names needed before the June primary.
In other business, Mays announced the town will receive a $100,000 grant from the Alabama  Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to complete the new baseball fields. The  money will complete two fields with lighting, and complete two fields without lighting.
“We’d like to send a  thank you to Sen. Roger Bedford and Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow for securing this grant for us to complete these fields,” Mays said.
The council also voted:
• to hire four lifeguards for the town’s pool. Three of the lifeguards need lifeguard certification, and one only needs CPR renewal. The council voted to hire these lifeguards pending the proper certification.
• to appoint Nelda Moss as pool manager for this summer.
• host a 5K run during the Hoedown Festival this June. The run will cost the town approximately $1,100 to pay for expenses such as route certification, and t-shirts for participants. Councilman Eddie Barton said they have already secured sponsors to cover a portion of the expenses, and approximately 50 runners committed to participating. Any proceeds will go into the Hoedown Festival account.
Mays asked that the police department be contacted with more information to ensure the safety of the participants. The council voted to hold the race as long all the of the safety issues have been addressed.
The  next regular council meeting will be held Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the town hall.