Jeff Bergosh Blog: Escambia's Alcohol Sales Ordinance to be Discussed Next Week

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I am one member of a five person board. The opinions I express on this forum are mine only, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Escambia County Staff, Administrators, Employees, or anyone else associated with Escambia County Florida. I am interested in establishing this blog as a means of additional transparency to the public, outreach to the community, and information dissemination to all who choose to look. Feedback is welcome, but because public participation is equally encouraged, appropriate language and decorum is mandatory. Although this is not my campaign site for re-election--sometimes campaign related information will be discussed, therefore in an abundance of caution I add the following : Political Advertisement Paid for and Approved by Jeff Bergosh, Republican, for Escambia County Commissioner District 1

Friday, January 15, 2021

Escambia's Alcohol Sales Ordinance to be Discussed Next Week

We will be discussing our alcohol sales ordinance next Thursday during our board meeting. Our current ordinance treats businesses differently according to where these businesses are located in the county geographically. Some believe this is an unfair double standard and I do not disagree with that assessment.....

Next week I will be bringing our Alcohol Sales ordinance to our regular meeting for discussion among my peers.

I have been asked by constituents why there are currently no sales of alcoholic beverages permitted on Sunday until 1:00 PM on the mainland in stores---but on our two barrier islands (Perdido Key and Pensacola Beach) ----Sunday sales can commence at 7:00AM as our policy is currently written?

Why the differing standards is a fair question?

Looking at the ordinances of our nearby neighbor counties (below)--I prefer and will bring a suggested replacement ordinance for Escambia County that is similar to what Santa Rosa has--that treats all areas the same in terms of the time/date when alcoholic beverages can be sold.

No store will be obligated to start selling early if they choose not to do so--but they will be allowed to do so if they so choose.

And no--I'm not "advocating" for people to go out and get drunk on Sunday mornings---I'm simply making our ordinance fair for all businesses in the county; as it is currently written, there is a glaring double standard.

When or whether or not someone chooses to consume alcoholic beverages is a personal choice/decision---and we do live in a free country after all....

So we will see if there is any appetite for changing this ordinance locally--I have no idea where my counterparts stand on this issue. We will find out next week though.