The Auburn City Council voted 6-3 on Tuesday night in favor of a resolution requesting consideration from the Alabama Legislature to allow the city to implement what is commonly referred to as the “Brunch Bill,” a bill that will allow local restaurants to begin serving alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sundays as opposed to noon.
According to Director of Public Affairs David Dorton, the council’s vote will allow the Alabama Legislature to vote on the bill’s implementation in Auburn at its next session, which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9 and end April 23.
If approved by the state, the decision will come back to the City Council for a final vote before restaurants can begin selling alcohol earlier on Sundays.
Matt Poirier,
“I think it’s a great thing for this town, I think it’s a great thing for tourism and it is a constant question we are asked Sunday mornings as soon as we are open until the magic bell at noon,” Poirier said. “I have yet to talk to somebody who is opposed … I think it’s a good thing for the city and a good thing for business.”
Ward 1 Councilwoman Verlinda White and Ward 7 Councilman Gene Dulaney said their constituents had reached out to them expressing opposition to the bill.
“One of the things that I have heard from some people who were concerned about it, their main concern is they felt like that we just have a continued erosion of Sunday and what Sunday means,” Dulaney said. “Just personally, I’m going to have to vote against this.”
Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Witten expressed her support of the bill.
“I think it just comes down to adding another opportunity for someone who, if they choose that that’s their lifestyle and they wish to have an adult beverage, that the option is there," Witten said. "I respect the religious aspect of a Sunday, but, to me, if you’re religious then you’re practicing that seven days a week and not just on a Sunday.”
City Manager Jim
At Tuesday's meeting, the council also approved postponing a vote to raise the price of metered parking in Auburn’s downtown until the beginning of Auburn University’s fall semester on Aug. 20, 2018, the purchase of $72,598 worth of fitness equipment from Life Fitness for the Boykin Community Center and a contract with The Backyard of Auburn LLC for improvements to Pine Hill Cemetery valued at $22,650.
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