City of McKenzie Withholds Beer Permit

McKENZIE (October 10) — A permit for off-premise beer sales to SAI of McKenzie Corporation was tabled by the City of McKenzie Alcohol Board. The permit was requested by Sam Patel of SAI in anticipation of purchasing Food Mart located at 17525 Highland Drive in McKenzie. McKenzie City Attorney Beau Pemberton stated that permits according to Tennessee Code Annotated requires the holder of the permit to either own or lease the business by which a permit is issued.

In this instance, SAI does not lease nor own the property associated with Food Mark. Patel was not present to answer at the time of the meeting. It was the recommendation of Pemberton to either deny the permit or table discussion for a month until Mr. Patel could make himself present to answer questions from the board. The board unanimously agreed to table the discussion until November.

The Alcohol Board then transitioned to the October meeting of the McKenzie City Council. The only item on the agenda was the approval of a bid at $16,865.20 for five sets of turnout gear for the Fire Department. The budgeted amount for the items was $18,000.

During department reports, the completion of paving and lining of Eastwood Dr. was noted. The Water Department has begun making upgrades to the treatment facility. Under Codes Enforcement, there were 28 citations served, seven of which are still active. Currently, two properties located on Oakland Street and McClure Street are awaiting demolition.

The Fire Department had 69 calls in September with 37 classified as medical related. There were also two structure fires. The Police Department received 1640 calls in September.

The next meeting of the McKenzie City Council is November 14 at 6 p.m. at McKenzie City Hall.