City leaders are formally requesting resort status from the Legislature in order to have a citywide referendum on whether or not to legalize beer and alcohol sales in Eupora. If state legislators pass a local and private bill to grant such status before adjourning Saturday, city voters will possibly decide the question in November. The Eupora Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution during a special-called meeting June 9 requesting resort designation. “It’s going to be entirely up to you all,” Mayor Lamar Dumas told aldermen at the outset. “I’m behind whatever decision that each member makes, whether it’s for or against, because I’m here to be a representative of the city of Eupora. I want to represent each and every individual who lives here.” Before the meeting adjourned about 20 minutes later, Junior Shaw (Ward 1) made a motion to adopt the resolution and Robert Gibbs (Ward 4) seconded, with all five aldermen voting aye by a show of hands. “This is just giving people the right to vote for it,” Dumas said during discussions before the vote. When Howard Rumore (Ward 2) asked the mayor what his plan was to get that message out, Dumas responded that he would use the news media or whatever he needs to do. “I think you’re going to have to really make people understand that in this town,” Rumore said. Resolution details The resolution specifically requests that the Legislature “grant the city, a municipality located in a dry county, the status of a qualified resort area so it can poll its citizens on the question of whether or not the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages should be allowed with the city of Eupora.” The resolution notes that the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in Webster County. It further states the city is the site of Whites Creek Lake, an attraction for fishing and recreation, and that the city is located on U.S. 82, a major four-lane highway “which regularly and routinely brings tourists, vacationists and others to the city of Eupora.” The document adds that various citizens of the city and various businesspeople operating here have expressed their opinion to members of the board that it would be to the city’s advantage for business, taxation, economic development and other reasons for it to change its status so that the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages here would be legalized and allowed. “Whereas, the (city board) desires to give to the people of Eupora … the right to vote on the question of whether or not the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages should be allowed therein,” the resolution states. It points out that the city of Eupora is not a “qualified resort area” under the Mississippi Code section addressing local option alcoholic beverage control definitions and general applicability. That section, in part, defines a qualified resort area as “any area or locality outside (the city limits) commonly known and accepted as a place which regularly and customarily attracts tourists, vacationists and other transients because of its historical, scenic or recreational facilities or attractions, or because of other attributes which regularly and customarily appeal to and attract tourists, vacationists and other transients in substantial numbers.” The only manner in which the city may obtain resort status is through the enactment of legislation qualifying it as such, according to the resolution. It asks the Legislature to act upon the city’s request during the current session, if at all possible, so that resort status will be granted quickly and Eupora citizens “will soon have the opportunity to vote and express their opinion on the issue of whether the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the city of Eupora.” The city’s intent, according to the measure, is to hold the election to determine if the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages in the city will be allowed on the date of the next general election (Nov. 3) without the necessity of a petition from 20% of the registered voters in the city. If the sale and possession of alcoholic beverages is allowed in the city following an election to determine that question, the city stated its intention is to regulate their sale by specifying the hours of operation that offer alcoholic beverages for sale; by specifying the percentage of revenue that facilities that offer them must derive from the preparation, cooking and serving of meals and not from the sale of beverages; and by designating the areas in which facilities that offer alcoholic beverages for sale may be located. Election logistics “I talked to Rep. Joey Hood (R.-Ackerman) and he said that this is going through the Legislature and they’re going to end the session June 20, and that’s the reason I called the meeting,” Dumas said before the vote. In specifying what aldermen needed to vote on, board attorney Jacqueline Meek said it would be to ask Hood to present the resolution to the House by Saturday requesting that it grant the city resort status for beer and alcohol sales. If granted, a citywide election will be held on the issue. The resort status will take effect only if a majority of voters support the referendum. In order to limit the referendum to city voters only if held during the countywide general election in November, the measure will need to be placed on a separate ballot for city voters only at the Eupora Community Center, according to the discussion. Previous attempt The board considered adopting a similar resolution in March of 2018, when Dumas also presented it during another special-called meeting near the end of that year’s legislative session. Meek said then that the resolution needed revising. After discussion, the three aldermen present determined that additional research was needed and tabled the item until further notice. Dumas then called another special meeting three days later, when Meek had the final version of the resolution ready. However, only two aldermen were present and therefore no action could be taken without a quorum. The issue never came up again that year or in 2019.
