No beer this year at Fourth of July festival

The annual Fourth of July Festival in Palmetto will see an increase in festivities, but drinking beer won’t be one of them.

A motion by Commissioner Jonathan Davis to authorize the Community Redevelopment Agency to release a request for proposal to sell beer was met with silence from the dais and the motion died for a lack of a second on Monday night.

The vote to allow the sale of beer has been a yearly battle, but this time Commissioner Tambra Varndadore, who has long opposed selling alcohol at the event, prevailed. Varnadore has typically supported alcohol sales at other festivals but since the Fourth of July event is sponsored by a city entity, “I don’t think the city should be in the business of beer sales.”

Varnadore said other events are privately run.

“The city should not be profiting from alcohol sales,” she said. “The city should be the example.”

CRA Director Jeff Burton said he wanted to get the RFP out as soon as possible, “because I know this can be a sensitive subject.”

Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said she doesn’t disagree with Varnadore’s principles, but she disagrees with the decision.

“Several years ago we didn’t allow alcohol sales and I smelled more alcohol than when we allowed it,” she said. “I still believe it’s safer for us to regulate it on site. I don’t love it there, but I think the community is safer and better served with it there.”

Police Chief Scott Tyler said his experience is that when alcohol sales are allowed, “there are far fewer coolers coming in and people are less likely to sneak stuff in.”

While the RFP for beer sales failed to pass, Burton’s second RFP proposal to enhance the family-friendly environment passed. Burton will work with local groups to stage family friendly festivities at Lamb Park, adjacent to Sutton Park.

“We want as much as we can to make this as family-friendly as possible,” Burton said, which pleased Varnadore.

“So this is going to be like an old-fashioned festival? That’s the look I would like to see,” she said.

Burton said Lamb Park activities should begin at 1 p.m. and will last throughout the festival with the Oak Ridge Boys scheduled to take the Sutton Park stage at 7 p.m. A full schedule of events have not yet been finalized.

This story was originally published April 4, 2017 at 11:13 AM with the headline "No beer this year at Fourth of July festival."