Thorsby will have wet-dry election
Published 9:46 pm Monday, February 15, 2010
It’s official. Thorsby residents will vote on whether to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in their town on June 1.
The Thorsby Town Council voted unanimously Monday night to call a municipal option election on the date of the 2010 Primaries. A separate resolution was approved requesting that Chilton County Probate Judge Bobby Martin place the measure on the primary ballot set for June 1.
“Personally, I’m glad that the people have the same vote I have,” said council member Marvin Crumpton, who made the motion for the first resolution.
A state law allows dry towns with a population of 1,000 or more to draft a petition asking for a wet/dry referendum. In Chilton County, this statistic included Jemison and Thorsby.
Municipalities with the required number of signatures were given the option of either calling a special election or waiting until the primaries. Jemison held a special election in January, and citizens there voted to go wet.
Thorsby collected signatures from 183 registered citizens, more than the required 30 percent of participating voters in the last municipal election.
The question on the ballot will appear as follows:
“Do you favor the legal sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages within this municipality?” Voters will then mark either “Yes” or “No” on their ballot.
In other business, Utility Superintendent Terry Jackson presented a positive water report to the council.
“There is plenty of water,” Jackson said, adding the only issue has been communication problems with a radio device, which monitors a well that feeds the city of Jemison.