Maud officials consider alcohol sales

MAUD, Texas-Maud city officials and residents are discussing letting the town go wet, which has occurred in six other Bowie County cities.

During Maud's quarterly economic development committee meeting Thursday, members met to appoint Maud resident David Brown to a vacancy.

They didn't discuss a local alcohol initiative during the meeting, but they did address it some after the meeting.

In a discussion with Maud business owner Glenda Wilson, Jimmy Clary, who serves as the city's mayor pro-tem and economic development committee chairman, said the committee hasn't put any money behind an alcohol initiative yet, but he added that he and the other committee members might be willing to try anything to help the city draw more sales tax money to pay for municipal improvements.

Committee Member Boyd Sartin said the group is presently attempting to save money to help any successful or promising business or businesses that might seek to locate in the Maud area.

Wilson said she doesn't drink, but she added that gaining any additional municipal sales tax revenue would help the city.

Since November 2013, voters in six Bowie County cities have approved the sale of off-premise beer and wine at grocery and convenience stores. Nash became the first in 2013, followed by Texarkana, Texas, in 2014, then New Boston, Redwater and DeKalb last year and finally Wake Village earlier this year.

While Redwater is just a few miles to the east of Maud and New Boston not much further to the west, Kyle DeLaughter, proprietor of DeLaughter's Grocery store in Maud, said his business can suffer if beer and wine sales are available in other nearby cities but not in Maud.

"Our citizens, who might want to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner on their way home from work, are going to other towns, not only to pick up some beer or wine at grocery stores or convenience stores there. But while they're stopped, they might also make a one-stop shop and pick up everything else they need-like food, other groceries and fuel," he said.

"It's now starting to seem like running a business here, without (selling) beer and wine, is like running a business with one arm tied behind your back. It's like having an insurance company that sells all other kinds of insurance, except car insurance."

DeLaughter said he isn't aware of any residential petition being circulated in Maud to collect voter signatures authorizing an election to legalize beer and wine sales. But he said someone needs to step up and start something.

"We have 20 employees here that depend on working a full schedule," DeLaughter said. "So far, I haven't had to cut any hours-yet. We have run a family business here in town since 1977, almost 40 years. It takes a lot to make a business like this work as long as it has."

Just like in the cities where residents have already voted to legalize beer and wine sales, DeLaughter said it will take about 35 percent of the number of residents who voted in the 2014 gubernatorial election to sign a petition for the measure. Presently, of Maud's 1,065 residents, about 700 are registered voters.

"Right now, we don't have a level playing field here in Maud with the other cities," DeLaughter said. "It's a major concern."

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