The City of McCaysville will vote in August to adopt the revised alcohol ordinance due to a technicality.
City Attorney Cortney Stuart told the council during their June 9 meeting, "The newspaper admitted that they made an error. Because they made the error, we have to republish it, and we'll have to pick new dates."
She explained the notice of intent to revise the ordinance must publish twice in the legal organ in order to have a first reading then adoption. The notice ran one time instead of two. The previous timeline was to have the vote in July.
"Take the extra month and read over the ordinance," Stuart told the council. She added that if the council feels it's necessary, they can hold another workshop on the ordinance beforehand.
The revisions address recorking wine and happy hours. It will also allow for packaged wine sales.
The current ordinance allows for the purchase of bottled wine, but a drink must be poured. If not finished, the bottle must be recorked. Police Chief Michael Earley advocated against the practice, saying it encourages drunk driving.
While packaged liquor sales had previously been discussed and the council was urged by the public to put the option out for a special May 19 vote, citizens chose against the option.
Additionally, Earley told the council a new event venue, across from Harbor Ministries, will be applying for a Beer and Wine License.
During public comments, Jeremy Harris spoke out of concerns for a Flock camera located at Toccoa Avenue and River Road.
Those concerns included privacy issues and data breeches involving third party sources.
Earley said a third party does not have access to the information the camera records but a third party does service and provide the equipment and software.
Harris said, "I'm just concerned because, I mean, it's good depending on who's in charge because elections change, people change hands and that's a crazy strong tool for anybody to hold."
Earley said the camera takes photos of a driver's vehicle tags as they pass by the camera. The camera notes any identifiers, such as dents or stickers, associated with the registered vehicle.
"It tells us if your tag's expired, if you've got warrants or anything, basically we've used it to find elderly people who've had BOLOs out," Earley explained.
The device does not notify the police if the tag is valid, Earley added.