Nitro City Council members voted Tuesday to allow alcohol sales in restaurants before 1 p.m. on Sundays, becoming the latest Kanawha County city to move forward with a "brunch bill."
Council plans to submit its proposal to the state Municipal Home Rule Board.
"We are a resort town," Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt said. "One of our biggest contributors to the city is the Mardi Gras Casino. And council believes this will help their business some, especially since they do have some convention business, to allow it to compete better with out of state interests."
Charleston and South Charleston are also moving forward with local legislation to allow alcohol sales at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
Andy Shamblin, councilman-at-large, was the only councilmember to oppose the measure.
"The Legislature addressed something that is not a problem and through the home rule process cities are even circumventing what the Legislature intended, which is each county to vote," Shamblin said, "and the people to be able to decide if they wanted it."
Shamblin did note that making the "brunch bill" a county referendum would be costly.
Both Casebolt and Shamblin said the Mardi Gras Casino is the only Nitro business that's advocated for enacting a change on the municipal level.
"I understand you can't legislate morality, but also you don't necessarily have to legislate immorality either," Shamblin said. "It's just a balancing act -- my opposition to it is a combination of different things -- it is not that big of an issue and I think we would have been better off just to leave it alone and leave it as is."
There will be a public hearing on the matter on Sept. 6 in council chambers at 6:30p.m.
Also on Tuesday, council approved a resolution to enter into an agreement with the Kanawha County Humane Society.
"They can provide us better service at a cheaper cost," Casebolt said. "They have humane officers all over [Kanawha County], and one of those will be dispatched to this area."
Under the agreement Nitro and Dunbar will continue to share the humane officer services as they have for more than a decade now.
The city hasn't had a humane officer for the last four months, Casebolt said.
"Humane officers are very important," he said. "You don't realize how valuable they are until you need them."
Council also passed the first reading of an ordinance to reduce the amount of employees necessary to receive a business and occupational tax economic development tax credit.
When the credit was passed in 2011 it required new businesses to create at least 50 new jobs to receive the credit, which waives the B&O tax for the first five years. Now new companies will need to create five jobs to qualify.
Since it's inception, Casebolt can't recall one company that has used the credit.
"This makes it fair for any business locating in Nitro -- almost all businesses have five employees," Casebolt said.