Charleston City Council has taken the first step in using home rule to allow restaurants to serve alcohol on Sunday mornings.
A bill was introduced in Council's meeting Monday, which seeks approval from the Municipal Home Rule Board to approve alcohol sales in restaurants on Sundays starting at 10 a.m.
Mayor Danny Jones said he doesn't know of anyone on the 26-member Council who would vote in opposition to the bill, which he sees as a "very good thing."
"A lot of people come in [from] out of town that want a buffet, and they'll want mimosas. Very few people will be waiting outside the bar to get drunk; I'm not saying nobody will, but those kinds of people are going to get liquor anyway," Jones said.
After Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill allowing counties to vote on whether to permit Sunday alcohol sales before 1 p.m., Shepherdstown was able to use home rule to pass its own "brunch bill."
But the city has to go through a few steps in order to bypass a county vote in November.
The bill was referred to Council's Home Rule Committee, which must vote in favor of the bill at its meeting at 5:30 p.m. on June 29 before it goes to Council for a full vote on July 5, said City Attorney Paul Ellis.
"That will authorize me to go to the state Home Rule board with our proposed plan and seek approval on July 11," Ellis said.
If the plan is approved, a new ordinance will be introduced at Council's July 28 meeting before a final vote on Aug. 1.
Jones added that the bill would benefit not just local restaurants, but also hotels.
"It'll help the hotels tremendously. People from out of town don't understand why they can't have a drink," Jones said.
Also on Monday, City Council:
n Authorized an application to the Department of Justice for a grant amounting $134,323 to buy interoperable radios and other equipment for the Charleston Police Department and Kanawha County Sheriff's Office to assist officers in the Communication and Crime Investigation Project.
n Authorized a grant application amounting $39,170 to the Kanawha County Public Safety Grant Committee to buy six Watchguard in-car cameras and two wireless antennas to transfer video and audio data to the Watchguard server in City Hall.
n Approved a resolution allowing the city to work with the Army Corps of Engineers in a feasibility cost sharing agreement to study, evaluate and implement solutions for Kanawha River streambank erosion protection along Kanawha Boulevard from Greenbrier Street to the Elk River. The cost of the study is estimated at $220,000, and the city would contribute up to $60,000.
n Authorized the finance director to amend the current Civic Center budget to provide funds to its capital improvement fund to screen and recoat its basketball court.
n Approved the Civic Center FY 2017 budget, which includes $4.31 million in total revenue and $5.12 million in total expenses.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.