By Marla Jones, Managing Editor • marla@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — A petition to add a public vote for legal alcohol sales within the City of Rainsville is being circulated.
Rainsville citizens last voted on alcohol in 2014. The vote fell short of passing by 29 votes, with 770 against and 741 for the sale.
Zane Mitchell, along with a few other citizens, have circulated a petition within the City. Mitchell stated, “I do believe that passing this will be an asset to the city and I am not the one who is leading this effort.” When asked who was leading the petition effort, Mitchell stated there were several.
Southern Torch also reached out to Rainsville Mayor and Councilmembers for their stance on alcohol sales:
• Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt: We made several attempts to obtain a statement from the Mayor but calls and messages were not returned.
• Brandon Freeman: “I really take no stance either way but I feel that the money if passed should be equally distributed and should be used for helping with the present school situations.”
• Derek Rosson: “I am in the middle on this. I have had calls for both sides. I feel that people are exercising their first amendment right to petition the government. This right is something I fought for. I will go along with whatever the outcome because that’s my job, something I was elected to do. If passed the three things I would like the money allocated for are (1) Schools, (2) emergency personnel and (3) infrastructure.”
• Bejan Taheri: “I will go along with how the majority votes. I would like 50% of the money to be used in our schools, Cornerstone and Plainview. The other 50% needs to be allocated to the police department and the roads.”
• Ricky Byrum: “I will go along with whatever the people vote. I can deal with it either way. I think we need to buy computers for schools and spend more money on ball facilities for the children. We need to spend money on children, they are our future. I also think that some money should be spent on the roads also.”
• Marshall Stiefel: “Obviously I will go along with the will of the people, that is what I was elected to do. I have to be very careful with my votes because I have two little girls at home that will be watching very closely what their Dad does. As for where the money should go, that is something that the next council will have to decide. People need to think seriously about who they vote for in the coming election, due to the implications of new revenue streams coming in, if passed.”
Look for updates on this topic in the near future. If this petition successfully gathers enough legally qualified signatures, it will appear on the August 2020 municipal election ballot in the City of Rainsville. If passed into law, the next mayor and council would be tasked with creating an ordinance establishing the rules and guidelines of alcohol sales, as to how the revenue would be allocated. Municipal elections are slated to be held on August 25, 2020.