GREEN COVE SPRINGS – An ordinance will be drafted to allow alcohol to be sold at the Clay County Fairgrounds during public events after members of the Clay County Board of County Commissioners voiced support for the measure at Tuesday’s meeting.

Following requests from two specific events, the Ham Jam and the Northeast Florida Scottish Highland Games and Festival, County Manager Stephanie Kopelousos directed county staff to prepare a presentation for the BCC, gauging interest in allowing the sale of alcohol at public events on county property.

James Householder, the director of the county’s facilities maintenance and operations, led the presentation, posing a series of questions to the commissioners in order to effectively draft an amendment to the current county alcohol ordinance, adopted in 2009, which only allows for the use of alcohol at private or invitation-only functions on county property.

To begin the discussion, staff asked the commissioners if they would vote to allow sale of alcohol specifically at the fairgrounds for public events, and whether or not they would want to allow alcohol at any other county-owned facilities.

Members of the commission all agreed that they would allow alcohol at the fairgrounds, but, at least for now, want to limit the ordinance change to the fairgrounds to see how it works before opening up sales at any other properties.

The discussion then shifted to whether or not the board would allow the sale of spirits in addition to beer and wine. The commissioners all agreed that beer and wine would be enough, but Commission Chair Wayne Bolla didn’t want to restrict certain events from allowing hard alcohol to be sold.

“I wouldn’t come down either way on it,” Bolla said. “I think a Scotch tasting booth at the Scottish games would be a real hit.”

Most commissioners agreed that they could allow for some liquor sales, but that those would be approved on a case by case basis.

Whether or not there would be alcohol zones made up the bulk of the discussion with commissioners split on the issue.

Commissioners Gavin Rollins and Mike Cella were both supporters of fencing off alcohol zones where drinks could be consumed, but would not be allowed outside the specified area. This, to them, would allow the events to maintain the county’s family-friendly atmosphere. Bolla disagreed, saying that alcohol zones would actually prohibit families from being able to stay together during events.

“You don’t want to be corralled in one spot where you can’t be with your family if you want to have a beer with your hamburger,” Bolla said. “That kinda defeats the purpose here.”

In addition to concerns about changing the family-friendly nature of events, allowing alcohol anywhere within the fairgrounds would create a need for an increased presence of law enforcement throughout the grounds, instead of being able to police a smaller, more controllable area.

“If you get to the point that someone is too intoxicated, it’s real easy for personnel to zero in on them because they’re in one spot, they’re not out roaming through the crowd,” said Commissioner Gayward Hendry, a retired law enforcement officer.

Cella added that an alcohol zone also prohibits legal-aged people from sharing alcohol with those who are underage.

A committee would be responsible for issuing permits for alcohol at public events, with Commissioner Hendry suggesting the committee be made up of the county attorney and county manager, a representative from public safety, a representative from the sheriff’s office and a member of the BCC.

“I’d prefer to see the committee regulate it with a permit instead of having to legislate each little thing,” Bolla said.

Staff took notes throughout the discussion and will begin drafting an ordinance that would allow for the sale of alcohol at the fairgrounds for public events. For now, the ordinance will be more restrictive, but could allow for more freedoms after the commissioners see that this change won’t cause any problems.

“I think I would be comfortable if we had more restrictions in the beginning and then loosened it as we went along,” Cella said. “I think that when you do anything for the first time you’ve got to be cautious.”