When driving through Clarksville, Councilman DeJuan Little wishes he saw more liquor stores, given the city’s size.
“More competition sometimes is good,” said Little, who represents Ward 3. “Allow more convenience for people to use it responsibly.”
Councilwoman Wanda Smith drives around town and sees far too many.
“Do we really need more liquor stores, really?” asked Smith, who represents Ward 6.”We need to use common sense to make the right decision for the good of this city.”
So Smith introduced an ordinance that would cap the number of liquor stores at 16. Currently, only 14 license holders have operational stores. Two new permit holders were just given permission.
“Too many deaths are happening, too many underage drinkings are happening,” said Smith.
But Councilman Little supports the ordinance the way it’s currently written.
“You can go to Chuck E Cheese, they sell beer. It’s everywhere. So if we really want to get ahead of the problem and try to find a solution, it’s not necessarily a licensing thing,” said Little.