Commissioners decide county parks will continue to bar alcohol at special events

Alamance County’s governing board has decided that county-owned parks ought to remain dry – not “dry” in the sense of unwatered but in the looser context of being alcohol-free.

The county’s board of commissioners reached this conclusion on Monday after county staff members presented an ordinance that would’ve allowed the county’s parks and rec department to permit beer and wine sales at special events on the premises of county-owned facilities like Cedarock Park.

Jamie Merchel, the county’s recreation director, told the commissioners that the inspiration for this proposed policy change came from a pair of requests that her department received in the past year from the organizers of two gatherings at Cedarock Park.

Merchel recalled that the first proposal came from Alcovets – a Graham-based organization that aids military veterans – which wanted to set up a beer garden at its annual hot air balloon festival. Since then, she said that the organizers of a national women’s disc golf tournament sought the department’s nod for a special “VIP section” where beer and wine would be served to tournament goers.

“At the time we turned down both requests,” the county’s recreation director added, “because it is in our ordinance that we do not allow alcohol in county parks…So, what we are asking is that we change the ordinance as it applies to special events.”

Alamance County’s attorney Rik Stevens went on to present some potential revisions that he said would enable the county’s parks and recreation commission to add this twist to events which meet certain conditions.

“We looked at the present ordinance and it wasn’t even clear to me that there would be any authority for that to even be entertained by the parks and rec commission,” Stevens informed the commissioners. “My suggestion was that we put forward an ordinance to explicitly allow that authority based on rules that they would create and fees that they would impose.”

Merchel added that the proposed changes would allow the county’s parks and rec commission to devise a special events policy with rules and procedures to govern the sale and consumption of alcohol at county-owned parks.

“I just want to be clear, staff is not making a recommendation that we have [alcohol] on a regular daily basis when the park is open to the public,” she proceeded to note. “It would just be for special events when the park is shut down to the public.”

Merchel’s suggestion nevertheless fell flat with Jackie Fortner, the chief deputy under Alamance County’s sheriff Terry Johnson. During a designated public comment period on Monday, Fortner approached the commissioners on behalf of his boss, who was absent from that evening’s proceedings due to a family vacation. Fortner added that Johnson had strong reservations about any policy that would allow alcohol to creep into county-owned parks.

“These are for our children; these are for good things to happen,” the sheriff’s chief deputy went on to sum up his superior’s position. “He didn’t have to talk long to me for me to know that he’s very upset.”

Equally determined not to open the metaphorical floodgates was commissioner Pam Thompson.

“I’m a big ‘no.’ There’s a bar on every corner. Burlington, Gibsonville, Mebane, and Elon all have a social whatever it’s called. . . I don’t think this is a good look for veterans or for anybody . . . The balloon festival is all about family. . . I work with addiction and alcoholism. . . and I do not in any way want alcohol in Cedarock Park for any reason.”

– County commissioner Pam Thompson

“I’m a big ‘no,’” Thompson assured her fellow commissioners during their discussion about the staff’s proposed ordinance. “There’s a bar on every corner. Burlington, Gibsonville, Mebane, and Elon all have a social whatever it’s called…I don’t think this is a good look for veterans or for anybody…The balloon festival is all about family…I work with addiction and alcoholism…and I do not in any way want alcohol in Cedarock Park for any reason.”

John Paisley, Jr., the chairman of Alamance County’s commissioners, noted that his own contacts at Alcovets have disavowed any lingering interest in a beer garden at their next annual balloon festival. This apparent change of heart was also corroborated by Merchel.

“I just learned that, as of today, Alcovets is not interested in serving alcohol at the balloon festival,” she informed the commissioners. “That was hot off the presses as of today.”

Meanwhile, Paisley said that he’d be personally unwilling to support any move to introduce alcohol into county facilities like Cedarock Park.

“I like the fact there is no alcohol and that I have not seen any alcohol out there at Cedarock,” he declared.

The only commissioner who expressed any inclination to support the staff’s proposed policy was Bill Lashley, who ultimately added that he could “go either way” on this issue.

“ I do believe that people should have an option if they so choose,” he told the rest of the county’s governing board. “If you’re having a wedding, if you’re having a corporate function, or if you’re having a meet and greet, it’s an opportunity that you should have.

“ I do believe that people should have an option if they so choose. If you’re having a wedding, if you’re having a corporate function, or if you’re having a meet and greet, it’s an opportunity that you should have.”

– County commissioner Bill Lashley

“I mean, if you’re going to get married, you probably should be drunk,” the lifelong bachelor added to the unanimous guffaws of his colleagues.

Lashley went on to suggest that “wet” events could raise additional revenue for the county’s parks and rec department. This idea nevertheless fizzled with Steve Carter, the vice chairman of Alamance County’s commissioners, said that he’s skeptical the prospective windfall from alcohol sales would outweigh the potential cost to the county.

In response to Carter’s objection, Merchel pointed out that an event’s organizers are already responsible for the cost of security, clean-up, and any other expenses associated with a particular gathering. Meanwhile, Stevens argued that the county wouldn’t necessarily get a cut of the beer and wine proceeds from any particular event, although it may attract organizations that otherwise wouldn’t consider a county-owned park for their functions. Yet, Carter insisted that the issue, for him, goes beyond these immediate costs.

“We have a tendency for conservative bodies to approve things they’ve always opposed because it generates revenue, and we have to draw the line someplace. Just because it generates revenue is not the best reason to do something.”

– County commissioner Steve Carter

“We have a tendency for conservative bodies to approve things they’ve always opposed because it generates revenue, and we have to draw the line someplace,” the board’s vice chairman added. “Just because it generates revenue is not the best reason to do something.”

“If we want parks and rec to be better funded,” Thompson chimed in, “we should give them more money.”

Commissioner Craig Turner, who was also on hand for Monday’s proceedings, opted not to wade into the debate over alcohol at county-owned parks.

In the end, the staff’s proposed ordinance changes died for lack of a motion from any member of the five-person board.

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