KURE BEACH — The Town of Kure Beach has joined its neighbors in allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages Sunday mornings starting at 10 a.m., a two-hour change from the previous law.
Earlier this week Kure Beach Council voted to change the ordinance with a 3-2 vote in favor of the change, however, state law requires a two-thirds majority vote to amend an ordinance on the first vote.
The motion passed again with a vote of 3-2 in favor of the ordinance.
The council then issued an announcement for a special called meeting to take place at 5 p.m., Friday, to hold the second vote, which only requires a simple majority to pass.
After the initial vote failed, Mayor Pro Tem Craig Bloszinsky, one of the dissenting votes gave an explanation for his vote.
“The consideration for me is more than making alcohol available for two more hours, it is already available about 156 hours each week. This is about time, location and input from a variety of sources,” Bloszinsky said. “Kure Beach is a small town of 2,200 plus full-time residents that grows to greater than 10,000 in season and has thousands of additional visitors for the Aquarium and Fort Fisher. Our primary businesses are located on the four corners of our stoplight at town center, within a six-block radius are six motels, two churches, access to the beach, pier and Ocean Front Park, add to this the Sunday morning move-ins for our ocean front rentals and the church traffic and you can anticipate that adding potential alcohol traffic to this area makes the situation worse. Many are thinking of the alcohol, I am thinking of the implications and safety.”
Bloszinsky made a similar argument against the motion on Friday evening. Commissioner Joesph Whitley asked if Bloszinsky would rather see people in Kure Beach leave to the neighboring towns instead.
Two commissioners cast their votes via phone in conference, Jim Dugan and David Heglar.
“I would say the vote we took Tuesday night, and the vote we are about to take accurately represents the town,” Dugan said.
Michael Praats can be contacted via email at Michael.p@localvoicemedia.com.
