Murphy – Regardless of what the town council ultimately chooses to do about a social district, it won’t be from a lack of discussion about the issue.
Four months after the concept was first proposed, Murphy’s elected officials spent a large chunk of Monday night’s November meeting discussing the potential pros and cons the district could have for the town. A “social district” is a designated area within a town or city where alcoholic beverages can be carried out of restaurants in open containers on downtown streets.
Unlike in past meetings, this latest round of talks leaned more heavily into talks about broader alcohol-related issues, including alcoholism and appeals to conservative Christian beliefs about drinking. Although council members were noncommittal about what comes next, most indicated an openness to a social district trial period centered around an event such as the Murphy Art Walk.
“I would feel comfortable, and I think a lot of people would feel more comfortable, with enacting a trial period like we had talked about,” council member Keisha Dockery said.
She later added: “I think the reason this has been put off is, I think we were making sure there was at least a majority of the board that was pro social district, or pro trial period of a social district, before there were going to be sit-down meetings with the restaurants and the businesses. That’s something I want to be involved in.”
Council member Gail Walker Stansell said she might be willing to consider a social district trial period of “three Art Walks or so.” Similarly, council member Charlene Smith said she felt more inclined to consider an Art Walk-based trial period, as opposed to the regular weekly hours in some other towns. Pilot Mountain has a social district in effect from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
“I could be agreeable to a small trial period for an Art Walk or a festival, because we’ve had that in the past and it hasn’t been a problem,” Smith said. “I don’t know that it’s necessary to have it all the time.”
Such a district is still a relatively new approach by towns within North Carolina. The move was made possible after a bill allowing cities and counties to implement social districts passed through the General Assembly in September 2021.
Nearby Sylva got its social district off the ground in April as part of a six-month test program. During the Murphy town council’s October meeting, Town Manager Chad Simons said he reached out to Sylva’s police chief to get information on “any increase in drunk and disorderly type of conduct, litter” and other types of issues.
“They actually put their social district in their CAD system, so they can actually track in real-time their calls associated with it,” Simons said. “They compared it to 2019 and had no increases whatsoever.”
According to Dockery, towns that have implemented a social district have seen increased tourism and tax revenue as a result. Downtown Development Director Laura Lachance has argued that a social district “puts brick and mortar (restaurants) on a level playing field with brewers.”
Jack Lang spoke on behalf of a local restaurant during the public comment portion of Monday’s meeting. He said he was not against a social district, but still wanted more information about how the town intended to control it, and whether or not he and other business owners could face liability issues.
Edie Spence also addressed the council during the public comment portion of the meeting and expressed concerns about the societal impact of looser alcohol regulations. She noted that her sister is a recovering alcoholic. Spence said she fears that a social district “will continue to normalize and glamorize the consumption of alcohol to our youth and our community,” calling it “the root of many evils.”
“I didn’t come here to preach, but I believe I am not the only God-fearing Christian in this group,” Spence added. “We are told to run our actions and our thoughts through the filter of the Bible. I’m sure the Bible would not advocate for people drinking publicly through the streets of our town.”
Council member Frank Dickey said he would not vote in favor of the district under any circumstances. Dickey described himself as a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t had a drink since 1997. He recalled that he and his mother once sat down and counted 356 people they had known who struggled with alcohol addiction in their lives and are now deceased.
“It really gripes me that we spend so much time on these controversial things that have no redeeming social value,” Dickey said. “I can’t see of any social impact, value to this at all, nothing. I can’t see the first thing, except maybe somebody is going to fulfill their legacy of not going to a frat party when they were a freshman in college and getting drunk on their butts.”
Dickey expressed his anger early in the meeting, when council member Charlene Smith read a letter sent in by Lawrence McNabb of McNabb Properties in support of a social district.
“Before this administration, we didn’t have a public reading, because if you don’t have enough guts to come and present your proposal, you just give it to the committee, that’s all I’m saying,” Dickey said. “I still feel that, but go ahead and read it, that’s fine.”
After Smith read the letter, Mayor Tim Radford tried to convey that he would be willing to re-examine his policy about reading letters submitted for public comment.
“To Frank’s point, this may actually be a good time for me to look at the code,” Radford said. “I had allowed in the past ...”
Dickey cut him off, saying, “It’s not a code, it’s just a protocol we use.”
Radford replied, “Maybe that’s something we need to talk about for future meetings.”
“We can talk about it now,” Dickey quickly shot back.
“I mean about reading ...” Radford began to respond.
“I’m trying,” Dickey again interrupted.
Radford moved on to the next public comment.
The council also briefly discussed questions about the cost of signage the town would be required to post, as well as whose responsibility it would be to pay for the Murphy-themed beverage cups used by businesses participating in a social district.