Ellijay’s first packaged liquor license fee will be in line with that of East Ellijay, city councilmembers decided when meeting at City Hall Monday, April 18.
Councilmembers Sandy Ott, Al Fuller, Tom Crawford, Katie Lancey and Kevin Pritchett set the annual fee for sales of packaged distilled spirits at $3,500, while also adopting an ordinance governing the operation of liquor stores in the city limits upon its second reading.
Packaged liquor sales are new in Ellijay, where there are already license fees in place for sales of packaged and by-the-drink beer and wine, as well as liquor by the drink. Allowing sales of packaged distilled spirits in the city limits was voted in during a 2021 special election.
Before setting the fee, councilmembers and Mayor Al Hoyle reviewed a list of annual packaged liquor license fees for several other north Georgia cities. They ranged from $3,000 (Jasper) to $5,000 (Calhoun, Helen, Clayton and Dalton). East Ellijay’s $3,500 fee was also included.
Hoyle said $5,000 is the maximum amount the state will allow for the license.
“I think it should be the same as East Ellijay,” said Fuller, with whom the other councilmembers agreed. A motion to set the fee at $3,500 a year passed without any further discussion.
The off-premise distilled spirits consumption ordinance states that packaged liquor will not be offered for sale within 100 yards of any church building or 200 yards of any school or education building, school grounds or college campus. Licensed liquor stores also cannot operate within 500 yards of one another, the ordinance reads.
Only certain items other than packaged liquor can be sold by license holders. Those include nonalcoholic mixers, wines and malt beverages (if licensed), glasses and other items used to consume alcohol, tobacco products and packaged ice.
The annual retail license fee is listed in the ordinance as “fixed from time to time by the city.”
In other news …
In a workshop that preceded the meeting, councilmembers heard an update on the city’s in-progress website redesign from David Grubb, owner of web design company Shepherds Loft.
Councilmembers voted last month to hire the Gilmer-County-based company to revamp its outdated website.
Grubb gave a breakdown of how different pages of the website can be laid out and updated, as well as how different city departments will need to have someone in charge of requesting content changes and additions.
“I expect the heads of the departments or someone designated from each department would request changes for their department. The person with the most knowledge is always going to be the person that’s in that department or area of expertise,” Grubb said.
Costs for the redesigned website include a $4,500 setup fee and a $166 monthly fee thereafter. The new website is expected to be available for public use by July.