By KENNETH HART - The Independent
BELLEFONTE — Voters in one Greenup County precinct on Tuesday approved the legal sale of alcoholic beverages at the Bellefonte Country Club.
The tally in the special referendum was 93 in favor, 53 against, Greenup County Clerk Pat Hieneman said.
The special election only involved voters in the Bellefonte precinct. Voting took place at Bellefonte Community Presbyterian Church, which is the precinct’s normal polling place.
“We’re happy that it passed. We think it’s going to be good for the community and good for our club,” said Beverly Baldridge, the country club’s general manager.
Liquor has been served openly for years at the private golf, tennis and swimming club. However, the club was barred by law from selling alcohol, forcing it to adopt a “BYOB” policy for its members. Many members kept their own personal supplies of liquor in storage at the establishment.
Legal alcohol sales at the club are expected to have little overall impact on the amount of liquor consumed at the club, or on the community as a whole. However, Baldridge said one benefit they will have is that the liquor sold at the club will be taxed, and that revenue will stay in the community.
Baldridge said it was her understanding that the 604-member club would have to wait 60 days before applying for its liquor license.
The country club submitted a petition with enough signatures on it to force a wet-dry referendum to Hieneman’s office in late September. The precinct has 715 registered voters, 535 of whom voted in last year’s presidential election. That meant organizers needed at least 134 signatures to trigger the vote.
The petition had 141 signatures, according to Hieneman.
The club sought the referendum under the 2000 law that enables golf courses in counties where residents have voted in whole or in part to repeal prohibition to petition for local option elections. The “in whole or in part” provision was satisfied in November 2008 when Russell residents approved the so-called “moist” law, which allows limited alcohol sales at certain restaurants.
Following Tuesday’s election, the country club will join Russell as the only two places in Greenup County where alcohol can be bought and sold legally. However, no establishments in Russell have obtained liquor licenses.
Tuesday’s election was Greenup County’s second special vote in a year that was supposed to have been election-free. In August, residents went to the polls for a special election to fill the vacant 18th District state Senate seat.
However, county officials said the Bellefonte wet-dry vote would be far less costly than the Senate election because it involved only one precinct.
