Supporters of Wet Benton County Turn in More than Enough Signatures
By: Amanda Ashley
Updated: July 12, 2012
Hoping to get the wet/dry issue on the November ballot, Keep Dollars in Benton County turned in more than 56,000 signatures to the County Clerk's Office.
The signatures were handed over on Thursday after a 5 month campaign to gather enough support to give voters a chance to weigh in on whether or not retail alcohol sales should be legal in Benton County.
"Invariably some of them will turn out to be duplicates or illegible and so we wanted to get as many signatures as we could," says group spokesman Marshal Ney.
Validating the signatures is the next step. The County Clerk must verify 38%, roughly 41 thousand, of registered voters have signed the petition.
"We feel very confident however that when the clerk finishes its process, they will find we have more than enough valid signatures to put this on the ballot," Ney says.
If the signatures are valid, the issue will be on the November 6th ballot, but Charles Crabtree says it's already pretty easy to get a drink inside county lines.
"Benton county's been the wettest dry county for the last 55 years that I'm aware of," he says.
"The horse is out of the barn, we have alcohol in Benton County," Ney says. "Right now we have about 128 private clubs."
The clubs are allowed to purchase, and dispense booze, but they are technically non-profits that are supported by the restaurant or bar itself.
"It's like setting up two businesses," Carl Garret says. "It gets a little complicated."
Garrett owns two restaurants in Benton County, and says many of his customers like to drink with dinner.
"They want it, they want a martini they want a beer," he says.
But the legal loophole that lets him sell alcohol in a dry county doesn't come cheap. The non-profits can cost up to eight thousand dollars just to start up.
"It makes it challenging," he says. "It's very expensive. Your liquor license is more than the regular license than being in a wet county."
Ney says the booze itself also costs more.
"Those 128 private clubs have to go to Washington County to purchase their alcohol," Ney says. "They have to go to a retail liquor store and pay over cost. They have to pay sales tax. They have to pay employees to go down in a truck and purchase the alcohol and bring it back to dispense it."
Ney says if the county goes wet, restaurants and bars can buy drinks at competitive rates, and those savings could be passed on to consumers.
"If we're successful in November then immediately there will be wholesalers who will come into the market, knock on their doors and give them the opportunity to buy liquor right out of the backs of their restaurants," he says. "They can take the best price, not pay the tax, and increase their margin by twenty percent, some of which they can pass along to consumers if they choose to."
Melissa Owen moved to the County in 1989. She thinks things are fine just the way they are.
"I don't think making a county wet will have a major effect on whether or not people can have alcohol," she says. "They already have that in the restaurants here and they have the option of heading over the county line to purchase whatever it is they want to have."
She say its better to keep sales outside of county lines.
"It's all about money," she says. "It's not a positive thing."
But Garrett says it would be a positive thing for his business.
"From a restauranteurs perspective we like things simple if we can," he says. "We realize there's protocol and rules and regulation and we respect all the laws... It just makes sense to go wet, why go through this extra stuff and figure a way out to do it when its already here."
The signatures were handed over on Thursday after a 5 month campaign to gather enough support to give voters a chance to weigh in on whether or not retail alcohol sales should be legal in Benton County.
"Invariably some of them will turn out to be duplicates or illegible and so we wanted to get as many signatures as we could," says group spokesman Marshal Ney.
Validating the signatures is the next step. The County Clerk must verify 38%, roughly 41 thousand, of registered voters have signed the petition.
"We feel very confident however that when the clerk finishes its process, they will find we have more than enough valid signatures to put this on the ballot," Ney says.
If the signatures are valid, the issue will be on the November 6th ballot, but Charles Crabtree says it's already pretty easy to get a drink inside county lines.
"Benton county's been the wettest dry county for the last 55 years that I'm aware of," he says.
"The horse is out of the barn, we have alcohol in Benton County," Ney says. "Right now we have about 128 private clubs."
The clubs are allowed to purchase, and dispense booze, but they are technically non-profits that are supported by the restaurant or bar itself.
"It's like setting up two businesses," Carl Garret says. "It gets a little complicated."
Garrett owns two restaurants in Benton County, and says many of his customers like to drink with dinner.
"They want it, they want a martini they want a beer," he says.
But the legal loophole that lets him sell alcohol in a dry county doesn't come cheap. The non-profits can cost up to eight thousand dollars just to start up.
"It makes it challenging," he says. "It's very expensive. Your liquor license is more than the regular license than being in a wet county."
Ney says the booze itself also costs more.
"Those 128 private clubs have to go to Washington County to purchase their alcohol," Ney says. "They have to go to a retail liquor store and pay over cost. They have to pay sales tax. They have to pay employees to go down in a truck and purchase the alcohol and bring it back to dispense it."
Ney says if the county goes wet, restaurants and bars can buy drinks at competitive rates, and those savings could be passed on to consumers.
"If we're successful in November then immediately there will be wholesalers who will come into the market, knock on their doors and give them the opportunity to buy liquor right out of the backs of their restaurants," he says. "They can take the best price, not pay the tax, and increase their margin by twenty percent, some of which they can pass along to consumers if they choose to."
Melissa Owen moved to the County in 1989. She thinks things are fine just the way they are.
"I don't think making a county wet will have a major effect on whether or not people can have alcohol," she says. "They already have that in the restaurants here and they have the option of heading over the county line to purchase whatever it is they want to have."
She say its better to keep sales outside of county lines.
"It's all about money," she says. "It's not a positive thing."
But Garrett says it would be a positive thing for his business.
"From a restauranteurs perspective we like things simple if we can," he says. "We realize there's protocol and rules and regulation and we respect all the laws... It just makes sense to go wet, why go through this extra stuff and figure a way out to do it when its already here."
