LOWELL -- City officials have begun talks about what it would take for the city to allow retail alcohol sales on Sunday.
Dean Bitner, City Council member, said retailers in the Benton County city are losing money because of a ban on the sale of alcohol on Sunday.
Lowell's neighbors to the south, Springdale and Tontitown, both in Washington County, have passed ordinances allowing Sunday sales at liquor stores.
"Retailers can sell in Springdale on Sunday," Bitner said. "People who live around a store here can't buy from that store on Sundays."
On-premises alcohol sales, such as in restaurants and bars, is permitted in Benton County on Sunday, state officials have said. Purchasing alcohol from a liquor store or convenience store is considered off-premises and isn't allowed in Lowell and most cities in the state. Off-premise sales were first allowed in Benton County in November 2012.
Lowell's discussions on the topic started during an ordinance committee May 27 when a majority of committee members voted to put the topic before the City Council. After further review, it was decided to pull the issue from the council's agenda because officials learned the issue would have to go to a public referendum, Bitner said.
Tom Kieklak, Rogers city attorney, said the state bans the sale of alcohol in cities and counties on Sunday. An election at the local level is needed to change that, he said.
"The state's default position is that Sunday sales are not legal so the only way to make them legal in any town or county is to go through a petition process and election," Kieklak said. "This would become an amendment to city ordinance."
Mary Robin Casteel, Arkansas Alcohol Beverage Control staff attorney, said only a handful of cities in the state have lifted the Sunday retail sales ban. In Northwest Arkansas, this includes Springdale and Tontitown.
Springdale overturned the ban in 2012, said Denise Pearce, Springdale city clerk. An election was held that November, she said.
Jim Phillips, president of the Springdale Liquor Association, spearheaded a campaign to put the initiative on the ballot, Pearce said. Phillips wasn't available for comment Friday.
A petition signed by qualified voters is needed to overturn the law, Casteel said. The petition must be signed by 15 percent of voters who participated in the past governor's race, she said. It can be 15 percent of voters in the city or in the county, she said.
Stan George, manager of High Spirit Liquor in Lowell, said he estimates he is losing a seventh of his business by being closed Sunday. He loses customers to both Springdale and Missouri, which allows Sunday sales statewide.
"I have a significant number of my clientele tell me they went to County Line Liquor [in Springdale] or Missouri on Sunday and they would love to come here but they don't have the chance," George said.
Sunday is one more day the business could be open making revenue, George said. It would probably be a typical day of sales, not higher or lower than the other days of the week, he said.
"During football season you might be losing even more than a normal day because people have cookouts and tailgates," George said.
Allowing alcohol sales on Sunday wouldn't only be good for the business, but also for the city and county, George said. He said he pays taxes to both government entities.
Wyman Morgan, Springdale director of finance and administration, said the city doesn't have any data to show if retail sale of alcohol on Sunday changed revenue for the city.
The discussion in Lowell is just starting, Bitner said. He expects it will continue and that a petition could be circulated in the future.
Teresa Moss can be contacted by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWATeresaM.
NW News on 06/21/2015