Vote may have to wait

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SYRACUSE -- City councilmen and the mayor are looking into holding a special election regarding a recently passed alcohol ordinance. But Davis County officials aren't sure if that's possible.

A petition filed at the Syracuse city offices earlier this month seeks the repeal of the recently passed ordinance. It allows restaurants within city limits to serve alcohol. Petition sponsors of a referendum vote turned the 1,200-plus signatures over to the Davis County clerk/auditor's office for certification Tuesday. If 944 of those signatures are certified, a vote will be held.

However, Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings said it isn't likely that a special election can be held during primaries on June 26.

"It appears from the stance of our legal counsel that it probably can't be done in June," he said.

County Attorney Gerald Hess said the only mention he can find of certification deadlines is 120 days prior to November's general election. No mention of a June 26th special election can currently be found, he said.

"What governs the county clerk is that it (certification) has to be done 120 days before any general election," he said.

Syracuse informed the county that City Attorney Todd Godfrey will continue to look into the matter, Rawlings said.

Syracuse Mayor Fred Panucci said the status of the ordinance needs to be decided as soon as possible in order to have restaurants come to the city.

"We cannot tell restaurants like we had to tell Wingers that they have to wait until November to even know if they can come to our city," he said. "They want to open in November."

During a council meeting earlier this month, councilmen declined granting two beer licenses. One was requested by Wingers, which is looking to locate in the city as part of a movie theater complex. The other was requested by Glen Eagle Golf Course. The filing of the petition suspended the ordinance.

Councilmen Phil Orton and Danny Hammon said they also think the possibility of a special election needs to be considered, but aren't in full support of it.

"I don't know if that's going to be the best solution, but I think it's something we should investigate," Hammon said.

Hammon, Orton, and Councilman Wally Peterson voted for the ordinance in February. Councilmen Lurlen Knight and Dean Steel voted against it.

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