Liquor By the Drink Referendum to Go on Lavonia November Ballot

Voters in Lavonia will have another chance to decide on whether to legalize the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

That after the Lavonia City Council last week approved a referendum for the November ballot.

City Attorney John Dickerson said a referendum would allow local restaurants to sell alcohol on Sundays from 12:30p until 12 midnight.

In November 2013, a similar referendum failed to pass by just two votes.

In that referendum, only 84 people bothered to cast a ballot out of a population of over 2,000. Of those 84 who voted, 41 said yes and 43 said no.

At that time, the referendum asked whether local restaurants should be allowed to serve alcohol by the drink on Sundays.

City manager Gary Fesperman said the same two restaurants that had asked for the referendum two years ago, have asked for it again.

“We had two businesses on the Interchange that have a consumption pouring alcohol license, both for beer and wine and distilled spirits,” he told the Council. “They are J Peters and La Cabana. Both of these folks have once again signed a petition to the council requesting the petition be put on the ballot. It can only be put on the ballot once every two years and they have asked that it again be put on the ballot.”

According to the City Manager, the referendum will again allow only for liquor-by-the-drink in restaurants licensed to sell alcohol.

After hearing from the City Attorney and the City Manager, the City Council voted unanimously to ask the Franklin County Elections Superintendent to include the referendum on the November ballot.