‘Keep Dollars in Crawford County’ seeks November vote on liquor sales

Van Buren attorney Kevin Holmes said “Keep Dollars in Crawford County” filed paperwork Wednesday (Feb. 3) with the Arkansas Ethics Commission and has hired a company to gather signatures in the effort to legalize liquor sales in the county.

According to Arkansas’ Alcoholic Beverage Control division, Crawford County is one of 35 of the state’s 75 counties are listed as “dry” – meaning no broad sales of alcohol, with a private club permit needed for liquor sales at restaurants.

Holmes said a group hoping to change the county’s status began to organize about 45 days ago. He said the group believes many in the county want change, and it was 1942 the last time a countywide vote was held on the issue.

“A lot of things have changed since then (1942). Probably a large percentage of Crawford County residents weren’t alive, or at least weren’t of voting age,” Holmes told Talk Business & Politics.

Holmes said the issue is also about keeping tax dollars and commerce in the county. Crawford County is in Arkansas surrounded by wet (legal liquor sales) counties or significantly wet areas. Washington, Madison, Franklin and Logan counties are wet, with Fort Smith in Sebastian County being wet. Other than Fort Smith, Sebastian County is dry.

The Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock noted in a summer 2014 report that Crawford County loses an estimated $10.144 million a year to liquor sales in adjacent counties.

“This effort is about choice and convenience for our residents and dollars for our community,” Holmes, who serves as secretary for Keep Dollars in Crawford County, said in a statement. “Right now, a lot of our folks drive out of the county to buy an alcoholic beverage. As a dry county, we lose revenue to neighboring communities every year, and that’s money we could put toward important programs and services for our citizens.”

Also behind the push is Crawford County Quorum Court member David Rofkahr.

“This issue is crucial to the future economic growth of our community, and the voters of Crawford County deserve to have a say,” Rofkahr said in the press release. “We have the opportunity to create jobs, strengthen the county’s budget, and keep local dollars here in the community.”

Members of the Keep Dollars in Crawford County committee are Holmes, Rofkahr, Phillip Morton, Shayne McKinney and Roger Key.

Arkansas law requires collection of valid signatures from 38% of the county’s registered voters, meaning at least 12,000 valid signatures are needed to place the measure on the ballot, according to Holmes. The group has until early July to provide signatures to the Crawford County Clerk for verification. If the signatures are valid and not withstanding legal challenges, the item could be on the November general election ballot in the county.

The committee hired Denver-based Blueprint Action to gather signatures. A Jan. 20 post on Craigslist seeks workers for the effort, with pay beginning at $10-$12, with bonuses possible, and mileage reimbursement.

Van Buren Chamber of Commerce President Jackie Krutsch said the chamber may not come out for or against the effort.

“I don’t expect our board will take a position on it because we have chamber members on both sides,” Krutsch said.