"We have to hope people will come to vote (in the June 2 general municipal elections) even though they didn't come to the meeting, or else they don't have a voice," said Ward Four Alderwoman Shirley Estes, alluding to the fact that no members of the general public were present for the hearing.
There were a few topics that did merit discussion at the public hearing, the first being brought up by a county citizen who had stopped by the boardroom just prior to the meeting but did not stay.
In the last meeting on the comprehensive plan, members of the board had asked Slaughter and Associates' Sue Chamberlain to try to find a comparison between a city of Brookhaven's size that doesn't sell liquor and one that does, as there was speculation that liquor sales might boost sales tax coming into the city.
Slaughter and Associates' Sam Russell said he and others in his office had tried to find an economic study that compared dry cities to wet cities to see if there was any difference.
"There are many studies on the evils of alcohol, if you will, but not a purely economic development study," Russell said. "There is anecdotal evidence that if you go out and drink alcohol, you're usually going to spend more money than if you can't drink."
However, Russell said, some cities have prospered once liquor sales were made legal. He cited Oxford as a city that began to grow once that ordinance was passed. Brookhaven regularly trails Oxford, Corinth, McComb and Natchez in sales tax numbers, all of which are wet towns.
"I was at a planning meeting in Memphis and one of the speakers was the economic development guy for Oxford. He said for economic development in Oxford, one of the biggest things that happened was that they passed liquor by the drink," he said.
However, Mayor Bob Massengill clarified that passing liquor laws is not something the current board of aldermen is interested in at this point.
"This board is not considering that at this point, I'd like for that to be very clear," he said. "The next board down the line may want to consider that. It is a referendum, a vote of the people would have to take place."
The group also discussed new road ideas, such as making a cut-through road from Brookman Drive to Union Street Extension. Ward Five Alderman D.W. Maxwell said that it would cut down response time for ambulances to not have to go all the way out to Highway 51 and around.
There was also talk of a frontage road from Magee Drive to run north over the railroad tracks, though Russell said it is increasingly difficult to get crossings over railroad tracks these days.
"I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm just saying it's something I've encountered in a few places," he said.
Zoning and buffer areas were also a discussion, as there are commercial areas around Highway 84, and Estes wanted to make sure it would be properly buffered between the businesses and Moreton Estates. Russell assured her there could be several different kinds of buffers that would be acceptable.
"When there are requests in the future to change the zonings, you'll have to look at this plan," Russell told the board. "You have to figure things out like why they want industrial zoning over here, and not just give it to them because they want it. You have to be able to say, 'I'm sorry angry citizens, but we've planned for that to be industrial for 20 years.'"
And city leaders pledged to adhere to the plan.
"One thing we need to guard against is this being put down and collecting dust and never being looked at again," said Ward Six Alderman David Phillips.
Massengill said the final grammatical errors and mapping issues would be resolved, and the board will vote on the comprehensive plan at the June 16 meeting.
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