The town of Maben has scheduled a public hearing later this month for the proposed sale of beer and light wine. The hearing comes after the town was granted resort status under Senate Bill 2803, which was approved by the Senate and House in May, and signed by the governor on May 13, according to information on the Mississippi Legislature’s website. The bill’s principal author was Sen. Dennis Debar Jr. of District 43 and is titled “Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law; revise definition of ‘qualified resort area.’” Although it does not include the word “Maben” anywhere in the text, one section is clearly referring to the town based upon the description given. The section states, in addition to other locations in the state described in the bill, that the term “qualified resort area” means “A municipality in which Mississippi Highway 15 intersects with Webster Street, and in which Webster Street splits into Mill Street and Maben-Starkville Road.” Highway 15 and those streets are located in the town of Maben. The Maben Board of Aldermen voted July 1 to advertise a related public hearing in The Webster ProgressTimes and Starkville Daily News. The notice is being published in the Progress-Times today and July 26. The hearing is for the proposed sale of beer and light wine in the town of Maben, and is set for 5:30 p.m. July 29 in the City Hall courtroom at 711 Second Ave. Concerns and questions will be heard during a recessed meeting of the board being held at that time. Maben, which is located in Oktibbeha and Webster counties, is already “wet” for the sale of packaged liquor in Oktibbeha. Maben Mayor Larry Pruitt said no special election will be required on the question of legalizing beer sales under the state statute granting the town resort status. The Maben board will come back in August to vote on designating the town as a qualified resort area, according to Pruitt. Such designation would officially take effect 30 days later if approved. He emphasized that the move to legalize beer sales in Maben was requested by local businesses “to keep tax dollars in town and keep people off the road.” Pruitt said the designation of Maben as a resort area is tied to the Charles Lindbergh landing site that has a historic marker on Highway 15, the ongoing attempts to establish the C&G Rail Trail from Greenwood to West Point and the possibility of getting a hotel with a conference room. Other Resort Areas The city of Eupora and the village of Walthall are also qualified resort areas. Eupora voters approved a special election measure in October 2020 giving the city qualified resort status to allow the sale of beer and light wine within the municipal limits. The Walthall Board of Aldermen adopted an ordinance on June 21, 2021, referred to as the “Walthall Qualified Resort Area Ordinance,” according to a newspaper legal notice published twice afterwards. The ordinance stated Walthall had been designated a “Qualified resort area,” which legalized the sale, distribution and possession of alcoholic beverages, beer, light wine and light spirits in the village. The ordinance set out requirements and restrictions on the sale of those alcoholic beverages. Walthall Mayor Belinda Stewart said the village, which is the county seat, was not required to have a special election on the question of legalizing beer and light wine sales under the state statute designating it as a qualified resort area. This year, a one-day permit for the sale of beer, seltzer and light wine was granted a mobile bar that set up at the Walthall Block Party on April 27. Additionally, the village posted on its Facebook page on June 12 that “Beer has arrived at Walthall Dollar General.
