Last Call for Alcohol on Saturday

Ruston voters head to the polls Saturday to decide how much alcohol will legally be available in the city and where.

The referendum is the culmination of a push by Walmart and Brookshire’s to bring the question of hard liquor sales to a public vote. Polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Both proponents and opponents of various propositions on the ballot are urging voters to turn out in hearty numbers.

“Just get out and vote,” Mayor Ronny Walker said. “A lot of people gave their lives in a lot of wars so that you and I can go out and vote.”

As of midday Thursday about 8% of the city’s 10,786 registered voters had cast early ballots. Of the 854 early voters, 504 voted in person and 350 by mail.

The number could increase because mailin voters have until 4:30 p.m. today to turn their ballots in to the Lincoln Parish Registrar of Voters office.

Both Walker and Ben Humphries, spokesman for the Keep Ruston Ruston group that opposes expanding alcohol sales, said they were encouraged by the early turnout.

“The real question is which way is it going to shake out, and nobody knows,” Humphries said.

State law requires all five possible alcohol options be on the ballot. Ruston voters approved three of them in a 2002 referendum. But to remain in place, voters must reapprove them.

The first two ballot propositions allow package beer sales and beer-only bars, the third allows traditional bars, the fourth allows grocery stores to sell a full array of package beverages, and the fifth allows restaurants to offer both high- and lowalcohol content drinks.

What each group wants

The political action committee working for Walmart and Brookshire’s wants voters to approve all five propositions; Walker is pushing for renewal of existing options plus the expanded sales for grocery stores, and Keep Ruston Ruston wants a renewal of existing options only.

Package beer sales, beer- only bars, and restaurant sales are permitted in Ruston now.

None of those have drawn opposition.

It’s the traditional bar option and allowing high-content alcohol to be sold in grocery stores where there’s a divide.

The stores can currently sell only beer and other low-alcohol content beverages.

Brookshire’s is the parent company of Super 1 Foods.

Backers of expanded grocery store sales say Ruston and parish taxing bodies stand to gain revenue from increased sales.

But nobody knows how much. Estimates for Ruston’s portion range from Walker’s $1.5 million to $2.2 million forecast by the Louisiana Economic Growth Committee, the political action group formed by Brookshire’s and Walmart.

Keep Ruston Ruston contends those numbers are too high. They say it would take $40 million in new alcohol sales — a figure the group believes is unreasonable — to gain the tax dollars Walker and the grocery store PAC talk about.

“They made it a big deal about the jobs, and they made it a big deal about the tax money, and neither one is true,” Humphries said.

Walker maintains Keep Ruston Ruston is putting out misinformation, both about the sales tax potential and about what might happen if voters allow traditional bars.

Keep Ruston Ruston fears bars would proliferate in downtown Ruston, thus changing the character of the city. Walker, who’s said he, too, opposes standalone bars, disagrees.

Restrictions outlined in the city’s new safety net ordinances limit the number of bars that can locate in the downtown entertainment district.

The ordinances also prohibit retail stores with less than 15,000 square feet from selling high-content package alcohol.

How it started

The move toward Saturday’s referendum began in September when a Texas consulting group, also hired by Brookshire’s and Walmart, started a petition drive to bring the alcohol questions to a vote.

The drive came four years after a similar effort failed to garner enough signatures to force a vote.

The second time was the charm; the petition was successful.

Walker and his wife were the first signers.

All along, he’s said he believes Ruston voters should decide what they want.

But he also pushed for the safety net ordinances so the city would have some control over any new liquor options voters might approve.

Two weeks ago, Keep Ruston Ruston appeared on what had been a quiet referendum front. The timing was intentional, Humphries said.

The group’s appearance spawned a town hall meeting during which Walker talked about the ballot options; that’s when both camps conceded nobody really knows the potential economic impact of expanded sales That same week Walker publicly said he’s worried most about the fate of the restaurant option. If it fails, the city stands to lose almost $5 million and will be forced to make “massive” staff reductions, he said.

He also predicts as many as a half dozen existing restaurants will close.

The parish school board, police jury and sheriff’s department also get sales tax from restaurants.