By Emma Longwell, Interning Correspondent for The Apopka Voice
The Apopka City Council, at its November 6th meeting, hit the pause button on a proposal to allow open alcohol containers at the weekly Market on Fifth Street event after airing concerns over public safety, liability, and incomplete communication with local businesses. Recreation Director Radley Williams presented the plan to enable patrons to carry alcoholic beverages within the market area on Friday evenings.
However, questions from Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez, City Commissioner Nick Nesta, and several residents highlighted worries about tailgating, liability coverage, and unclear approval from all affected business owners.
“I did get two different, separate texts," Velazquez said. "First, there were some residents in our city that are kind of concerned about the open carry of alcohol in that area, and there was mention that not all the business owners were aware of this open and carry."
Williams said that, to his knowledge, the notification was done, but he would follow up.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to have this in the parking lot... or to businesses that haven’t approved this or haven’t reviewed it yet,” Nesta said.
One of Nesta's concerns was that it would create a tailgating theme and inconsistencies with the license agreement, such as clarification that this would happen every Friday and not just the one date listed in the agreement. He asked that they hear from the rest of the public and the rest of the commissioners if they were on board to postpone this topic until they get a corrected, fully perfected application.
Mayor Bryan Nelson asked Brandon Sagherian, owner of the Smoke Exchange on 5th Street, and Jay Kleinrichert, an owner of Propagate Social House, to clarify some questions the Council raised.
"The idea is to have this every Friday so that some people can enjoy walking Fifth Street Plaza and the farmers market all at once without having any concerns of, 'am I allowed to take this off property? Can I go over to 3 odd guys? Can I go to the smoke exchange? Where can I go with my beverage?'
"And that I'm okay with," said Nesta. "I think having your event, the market itself, have access to a container is beneficial not only to your vendors, but also to your businesses there. So, starting small on Fifth Street itself, and then should the other businesses and restaurants in the area want to partake, then we can address expanding it from there. My concern is, again, that it will turn into everyone's drinking out of their cars because they don't have to pay the fees and the extra costs."
But Kleinrichert clarified the reason the parking lot was included.
"The map is expanding to include Hick's Seafood," he said. "Hall's on Fifth when that opens up. And so the parking lot is just the area in between those spaces."
And Sagherian expanded on his explanation.
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult for our customers to frequent multiple locations while we’re down there For instance, somebody comes into my store and has a glass of wine . . . they can’t go down to propagate to meet their husband or wide because of the rule of carrying a drink with you,” he said.
Young Kim, whose family owns All-American Furniture and Young's Law Firm on Fifth Street, was not informed until that afternoon. He said his only concern is liability and wanted the city to cover it with a liability insurance policy if someone gets hurt on city property.
Ultimately, the Council opted to delay its decision on the proposal, acknowledging the need for a more thorough review and robust communication with all affected parties. Officials emphasized the importance of addressing public safety and liability concerns and ensuring that all business owners agree before moving forward.
"We need to bring this back," Nelson said. "We need to get the people (business owners) on the north side of Fifth Street engaged and comfortable with this."
The Council plans to revisit the proposal once a revised and fully completed application is submitted, allowing for further input from both the public and local businesses.
Editor's Note: During the meeting, representatives from Propagate Social House withdrew their application to allow open alcohol containers at the weekly Market on Fifth Street. This was not reported in an earlier edition of this article.
