The City of Pinehurst has a new Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance. The City Council approved a moratorium on issuing alcohol licenses in Pinehurst last year in order to revise the ordinance.
Charles Falls with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission worked with a committee appointed by the City Council to modernize the antiquated ordinance. Falls reviewed the new ordinance during the City Council meeting Tuesday. City Administrator Robbie Hood said the committee worked hard to get a new alcohol ordinance for Pinehurst.
The new ordinance moved the boundary zone for alcoholic beverage licenses from basically Robert’s Restaurant on West Park Avenue to just east of the old Casa Bella Restaurant on Park Avenue. Gunn Drive was established as a natural boundary line. Hood said, “That’s what the council considered and adopted that ordinance.”
The ordinance was approved by the City Council with only one dissenting vote from Alderman Dan Mohon. He believes the new boundary line established by the revised Alcoholic Beverage Ordinance infringes on residential neighborhoods. “It’s been my philosophy ever since I’ve been in any public office that we take care of the residences that are already there and not infringe on them,” Mohon explained.
Businesses wanting to operate in Pinehurst and sell alcohol as part of it will need to go to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a license and then apply at the Pinehurst City Hall to make sure the location of the business is within the permitted area. The business will be required to pay a $250 administrative fee to Pinehurst for the permit.
Pinehurst accepted its annual audit from CPA Keri Michutka during the meeting. Michutka said 2018 was a good year and a good audit for the city. She reported that Pinehurst has a $1.5 million fund balance which represents about a nine-month reserve which is good.
At Michutka’s suggestion the City Secretary Debbie Cormier recommended the council approve raising the threshold for capital assets from $1500 to $5,000. This will greatly reduce the paperwork and documentation that is required on certain purchases that match or exceed the capital assets threshold.
Pinehurst Police Chief Fred Hanauer presented his department’s 2018 Racial Profiling Report to the City Council. Hanauer said there were 907 traffic stops by his department last year, 507 of those were for moving violations. Pinehurst officers conducted 52 searches of the vehicles stopped with contraband being found in 22 of those searches. As a result of the over nine hundred traffic stops 29 arrests were made.
Hanauer reminded there was one complaint of racial profiling made against the Pinehurst Police Department in 2018. A subsequent investigation showed the complaint was unfounded.
Hanauer requested and was approved by the council to apply for three separate grants. The chief indicated all the grants will help purchase radios and other communication devices for his officers.
The council approved Schaumburg & Polk Inc. to do the engineering services for a Community Development Block Grant project which had been approved earlier. The firm of David J. Waxman, Inc. will serve as the administrator for the grant. The sewer trunk line rehabilitation project will be located just west of Waterford Gardens to 34th Street.
Approval was given for Pinehurst to apply for a 2019-2020 Community Development Block Grant of $275,000. Another sewer line on Mockingbird Street close to 37th Street will be rehabilitated with these grant funds. Hood said the city’s matching funds will be around $30,000 to cover the project.
As part of the City of Pinehurst’s economic development program the council approved the Chapter 380 Agreement. This will allow the City Council to do sales tax re-allocation with potential businesses looking to locate in Pinehurst. For a business to even be considered under the agreement the capital investment by the company would need to meet a one million dollar threshold of impact to Pinehurst.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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