County Hears Request for Liquor by the Drink

HUNTINGDON (August 12) — During the August meeting of the Carroll County Commission, Stephen Liss, the soon-to-be proprietor of Club Rosser, spoke to the legislative body about adding liquor by the drink as a referendum to the November ballot. Currently, McKenzie and Huntingdon allow liquor by the drink within the municipal city limits but it is illegal elsewhere in the county.

Liss stated he was taking ownership of a bar located in the Rosser community on September 30 and wanted to make changes to the establishment. He added that he felt alcohol was alcohol regardless of whether it was beer or liquor. Liss said that bringing in liquor by the drink would increase profit margins that would ultimately increase tax revenue and fees for the county.

To be on the November ballot, Liss would have to present a petition requesting the liquor by the drink referendum with 574 verified signatures of Carroll County voters or a two-thirds majority of commissioners could request the referendum. While Commissioners Walter Smothers and Daniel Thomas, both of whom are in law enforcement, spoke on their opinions and asked questions of Liss, ultimately the commission did not respond to the request.

As of August 12, Liss stated he had between 80 to 100 signatures requesting the referendum.

In other business, the county approved Resolution 8-04-2024 approving and authorizing a ground lease agreement with Med-Trans Corporation and the Carroll County Airport. The lease agreement provides the county with a monthly $3,000 payment from the medical group. Additionally, Med-Trans plans to construct a hanger that would include housing / living quarters for its employees on call and other renovations at no cost to the county.

Med-Trans is a participating provider in the AirMedCare Network. They will provide Carroll County with around-the-clock air ambulances. According to their mission statement, they build relationships with leading health systems, medical centers and EMS agencies spanning multiple geographic locations, Med-Trans Corporation offers a broad range of solutions to help its partners achieve successful patient outcomes. Med-Trans offers customized air ambulance programs through alternative delivery/shared resource models, community-based models or traditional hospital-based models.

The commission approved Resolution 8-03-2024 calling on the United States Postal Service to improve local service and return mail processing operations to Jackson, Tennessee. Mayor Joseph Butler stated that he was joining Madison County and other groups in support of the resolution in hopes of improving local mail service. While the resolution will probably fall on deaf ears at the federal level, local officials are hoping to address the increasing problem with the US Postal Service.

The commission reappointed/appointed the following: Vince Taylor to the Carroll County Civil Service Commission; Dr. Howell Todd, Phil Williams and Manuel Crossno to the Carroll County Indigent Care Board.

The following were elected as notaries: Fridie Algee, Jr., Aniker Algee, Mallory Ann Carey, Ann Cran-Williams, Tony E. Dill, Jr., Ginger Foster, Cami Furr, Elyse Lynch Henderson, Pamela L. Hilderbrand, Robin L. Luther, Annette O’Neal, Tonni L. Perkins, Chad R. Pinson, Melinda M. Popplewell, Joy R. Ross, Brenda J. Spencer, and Larry Spencer.

Commissioners not in attendance were Spiros Roditis and Joey Darnell.

The next meeting of the Carroll County Commission is September 9 at 7 p.m. at the Carroll County Government Complex in Huntingdon.