Livingston and Albany, two towns in Livingston Parish, ended their prohibition on liquor sales in overwhelming votes Saturday.
Albany Mayor Eileen Bates-McCarroll says the processed started last year at a Livingston Chamber of Commerce meeting when area leaders agreed it was time to put the issue up for a vote.
“People are excited about having, as some of the Council members said, a nice sit-down restaurant whether it’s seafood, or steak, or a Mexican restaurant, and having a nice margarita,” says Bates-McCarroll who adds 25% of the electorate in Albany had to sign a petition to get the issue on the ballot.
The town will need to draw up regulations before the ban is officially removed.
Bates-McCarroll says the vote will help out the local economy by incentivizing development along their I-12 exit, and hopefully bring a few new restaurants into town.
“If there is a prohibition that you cannot have alcohol, those types of businesses or nice sit-down restaurants are just going to go somewhere else, and I think it’s just a good business decision,” says Bates-McCarroll.
Opponents of the ordinance believe the law change could result in more incidents of drunk driving.
Bates-McCarroll has lived in town long enough to watch attitudes change as different folks move in and out, and adds, “If someone doesn’t want to drink, I certainly respect that, but business people now want to offer the option.”
The Mayor says the liquor ban was originally passed in Albany about half a century ago.
