The Union County Alcohol Board met at the Community Center over about four hours on Tuesday, June 23, to review the county’s alcohol ordinance for the first time since 2024.
During the meeting, the board came up with several ordinance updates to recommend to Sole Commissioner Harold Collins, including moving the annual alcohol license renewal application deadline forward, allowing the board to consider special circumstances during the licensing process and adding a possible catering license.
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“The board does not make changes; it suggests changes,” said Renee Deibert, secretary of the Alcohol Board and alcohol licensing coordinator for the Commissioner’s Office. “The commissioner is the one who decides what changes he actually wants to make.”
Deibert said she is currently preparing a revised version of the ordinance that will show the proposed additions and removals. Once completed, the document will return to the Alcohol Board for review before she presents it to Collins.
If Collins approves the recommendations, the proposed changes will go through the county’s standard ordinance process, which includes a first reading during a commission meeting, a public hearing and a second reading before any changes are formally adopted.
“It will be several weeks before the language is complete to the degree that it is ready for the commissioner’s review and then public input,” Deibert said last week.
Most of the proposed updates involve correcting wording, typography and making minor adjustments to the way the board operates, though Deibert said three larger changes were suggested during the recent review.
The first recommendation is the creation of a catering license. Deibert said several local caterers have approached the board about becoming “full-service caterers,” which would allow them to serve both food and alcoholic beverages at events.
“The board did entertain that,” Deibert said. “So, the catering license will be recommended to the commissioner.”
The board has also recommended adding the ability to grant variances under certain circumstances. Currently, the ordinance does not allow board members to consider exceptions if an alcohol license applicant does not meet every requirement.
As an example, Deibert said an applicant for a special event license who misses the required application deadline by one day has no way for the board to consider the circumstances. Under the proposed change, she said the board would be able to review individual situations and determine whether a variance is appropriate before making a decision on an application.
The third recommendation is moving the annual alcohol license renewal deadline from Nov. 30 to Oct. 15. Deibert said the earlier deadline will give the county more time to complete the required background checks and paperwork before the holiday season.
“That’s better for Union County as far as processing the paperwork, but it’s also better for the business who is renewing their license, because if we can’t get … their license renewed in time in December, it means that there’s a lapse in January where they can’t sell alcohol,” Deibert said.
Despite rumors circulating online before the meeting last month, Deibert said the board did not consider Sunday alcohol sales or the possibility of allowing liquor stores within the county.
“There was some social media fodder out there,” Deibert said, “but that was never discussed, and it was never on the list to be discussed.”
The Alcohol Board consists of members Samantha Thomason, Scott Phillips, Wesley Hopgood, John Mark Turner and Chuck Chandonnet, with County Attorney William Mercer advising and Deibert serving as secretary and enforcement.
