Alcohol sales issue heating up

As the Nov. 2 general election draws near, the main issue on the minds of many Russellville residents is the wet/dry referendum.

The Franklin County Vote Dry Political Action Committee has met several times to discuss the ways their group could convey their main message: “Alcohol Kills, Vote No.”

But the Russellville Citizens for Progress feel differently about the issue as evidenced by their message: “It’s Not About Alcohol, It is About Revenue and Progress.”

Group spokesman, Dick Tutich, said that the city of Russellville is in definite need of revenue, but the city is missing out because the sale of alcohol is currently illegal.

“When people here in Russellville want to purchase alcohol, all they have to do is drive a few miles to Littleville to get it,” Tutich said. “It really is a shame that these other communities are benefitting from this revenue that should be ours.”

Tutich also said that if the legal sale of alcohol is not passed on Nov. 2, the city will have to find other ways of generating more revenue, which could mean more taxes.

“Money is scarce right now, and the schools can tell you that,” Tutich said. “The legal sale of alcohol in the city would generate more revenue without having to raise taxes.”

Sachin Bhagat, manager of America’s Best Value Inn and Suites on Highway 43 in Russellville, said that he has lost business because alcohol sales are not legal in the city.

“We had a group of construction workers who had booked 10 rooms for a month,” Bhagat said, “but after only three nights, they left and went to a hotel in the Shoals. 

“They specifically told me that the rooms were great and they had no problem with the hotel, but in three days they had eaten at all the places there were to eat in Russellville and if they were going to have to drive to the Shoals anyway, they might as well just stay there.”

Bhagat added that when he loses out, the city loses out as well.

“I lost out on $12,000 because those construction workers left,” Bhagat said. “But the city lost out on the 9 cent sales tax from that $12,000. This isn’t just about revenue for me and my business, it’s about revenue for the city.”

Bhagat said that if the sale of alcohol is legalized, he plans to tear down the vacant restaurant building in front of the America’s Best Value Inn and Suites and build an upscale restaurant in its place.

“For years, towns like Florence, Muscle Shoals and Tuscumbia have been receiving money from Russellville’s citizens that go there to eat because there are more choices,” Bhagat said. “My goal with the upscale restaurant is to keep that money here in the city as well as bring in people from other places.

“It’s been a long time with nothing changing in Russellville, and it’s time we move forward instead of backward.”

James Webb, Vice-President of Webb Oil Company, Inc., agrees that it is time for Russellville to progress.

“Legalizing the sale of alcohol in the city would foster economic growth, make the city more attractive to larger companies and bring in more jobs,” Webb said.

“It would also generate much-needed revenue for the city, which could then be distributed to the school system. Besides helping the city as a whole, the money from legalizing alcohol sales could really help our schools at a time when they really need it the most.”

The Russellville Citizens for Progress want the citizens of Russellville to realize that a vote for legalizing the sale of alcohol will be a vote for progress and change.

“The alcohol has been here all along,” Tutich said. “People were just going to the county line to get it. The only thing that will change is where the money is going. It’s time for Russellville to get its fair share of the revenue from alcohol sales.”