After hearing from members of the public at Thursday’s special called meeting of the Hopkinsville City Council, council chose to approve an ordinance ending prohibition on Sunday alcohol sales on second-reading.
A couple of the speakers were in support of passing the ordinance, including Hopkinsville Brewing Company Owner Kate Russell, who says while it may not seem like much, those extra 52 Sundays can greatly help her small business.
Several citizens were against ending Sunday prohibition, with Hillcrest Pastor Dr. Joe Bufford urging councilmembers to not end a measure that has kept Sundays as the Lord’s Day for years.
The measure as a whole is an amendment to an ordinance established in 1959 and would allow the sale of alcohol beginning at 11 a.m. on Sundays—like it is any other day of the week—but it would keep the prohibition on sales on Christmas Day and during any election day. The ordinance ends prohibition on Sunday alcohol sales in package stores, bars and restaurants in Hopkinsville.
It passed on a ten-to-one vote, with Councilmember Phillip Brooks the lone ‘no’ vote.
In other action, council unanimously passed approved retention stipends for city employees who retained their employment from March 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible city employees meeting the criteria could receive a one-time stipend of up to a maximum of $4,000, minus any required taxes.