Clarendon officials will meet with representatives of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) next week as they consider how to govern the sale of alcohol in the city.
City Hall is currently not signing applications for alcohol permits until local rules can be adopted, and the Board of Aldermen first took up the matter for discussion during their meeting last Tuesday, November 19.
Alderman Will Thompson presented five draft ordinances on the subject, but said he prepared them just as a starting place for discussion.
“I think the meat of the matter is underage drinking,” Thompson said. “I want to make there be some consequence to selling to underage drinkers.”
Thompson said whatever rules are put in place could be undone by a future board, but he felt that it will be better for the city to do more than to do nothing.
Mayor Larry Hicks said he believes the citizens expect the board to do something on the issue. Hicks said citizens had spoken to him with different points of view on zones of 300 or 1,000 feet from churches or schools and on possibly exempting downtown Kearney Street and US 287 to foster commercial development in those locations.
The board took no action at all last week. TABC representatives will address the aldermen at a called meeting next Friday, December 6, at 3 p.m.
In other city business last week, aldermen nominated Wilma Lindley as a member of the Donley County Appraisal District Board, and voted to approve the annual contract with the appraisal district for property appraisal and tax collection services.
The board approved an annual computer maintenance agreement with CyberMedics and also approved an updated solid waste disposal agreement with the City of Pampa as a backup to the city’s primary contract with Memphis.
Chandra Eggemeyer presented the annual budgets for the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation and the Clarendon Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund, and aldermen approved both documents.
Aldermen appointed Jacob Fangman and Jack Craft to fill the unexpired terms of Ann Huey and Abby Patten on the CEDC Board of Directors and appointed Terri Floyd, Steve Hall, and Roseann Mayer to full two-year terms on the same board.
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