Published: July 24, 2008 11:54 am      

Commissioners, liquor board, nonprofit clubs to meet today

CUMBERLAND - There has been little ground made in the month since Allegany County Commissioners Dale Lewis and Bob Hutcheson requested a meeting with the Board of License Commissioners, known as the liquor board, and local nonprofit clubs to discuss serving alcohol to the general public.

That doesn't mean, however, that it hasn't been a topic of conversation.

"Everywhere I get an earful," said Lewis on Wednesday. "The nonprofits, the fire companies, the rescue squads, the churches that have bingo, they are upset that something might happen to them and they're going to lose a lot of revenue."

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. today in Room 100 of the County Office Complex. Along with the District 1 legislative delegation, the public is permitted to attend.

At issue is whether the county's 39 nonprofit organizations with Class C alcohol sales licenses can serve alcohol to the general public. Current regulations say no - that sales are limited to members and guests. Liquor board chairman Gerald Delaney said nonprofits have advantages over private businesses in that they pay less in fees and taxes. Therefore, they must abide by the rules.

Lewis, though, understands the concern of nonprofits, of which he has membership in several, including the Good Will Volunteer Fire Department.

"The fire companies can't afford to lose any revenue," Lewis said. "I'm hoping there's some give and take on everybody's part. We want to hear what they say."

Lewis said some of the directives issued by Delaney and the state-appointed liquor board "just seem totally unfair."

Lewis said the board mandates knowing how much money a club makes and an organization's schedule of events a year in advance in order to approve those events.

"That's not really their job," Lewis said.

In a July 15 letter to the commissioners, Rodney W. Bowser, secretary of the Allegany-Garrett Counties Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, expressed hope that Delaney could help rewrite some of the rules instead of enforcing the ones currently on the books.

"Should the board strictly enforce the rules according to the law, then these nonprofits would lose about one-fourth of their annual budget," Bowser said.

Some fire companies operate taverns to supplement their annual budget. Bowser said that helps counter a decline in volunteer members.

"The membership alone cannot supplement this loss in revenue derived from serving guests," Bowser said. "The Allegany County Liquor Control Board must find a way to soften or eliminate current stipulations imposed upon these nonprofits in order to preserve this important funding resource. We certainly hope that an amicable solution can be found. The survival of these fire companies may be questionable otherwise."

Said Lewis: "We're all in this together. I'm hoping this can be worked out."

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.