CEDAR BLUFF — Businesses that sell alcohol here reached their goal last week, with nine voters to spare.

During a special meeting last Thursday, the Cedar Bluff Town Council accepted a petition originally signed by 321 people asking the town to hold a wet-dry vote.

The town needed 151 names – or 30 percent of the 504 voters who took part in the last election – in order to legally proceed with the alcohol referendum. The petition drive was spearheaded by several local restaurants and convenience stores where alcohol has been sold since 2004.

After comparing the list to another provided by the Cherokee County Board of Registrars, Town Clerk Pam Powell determined that 160 of the names belonged to people qualified to vote in Cedar Bluff.

A motion to schedule the election for June 1 passed unanimously.

Alcohol was first legalized in Cedar Bluff in August 2003. Immediately after the referendum passed, however, a group of residents filed a lawsuit questioning whether the legislation that allowed the town to hold the vote was constitutional.

Amid what became a years-long legal battle, sales finally were postponed for several months.

A second lawsuit, filed after the first one was settled out of court in 2005, also questioned the legality of the wet-dry vote. That case has not been settled, but a law passed last year by the state Legislature made it legal for any municipality in Alabama with 1,000 or more citizens to hold a wet-dry vote.

There are around 1,500 people in Cedar Bluff.

Mayor Ethel Sprouse said holding a second successful referendum should erase any question about the legality of legalized alcohol sales and put an end to the town's legal troubles.

“I think the Council members and I are hoping that this will put the issue to rest, once and for all,” she said. “We'll either be wet or dry.”

Asked if she had a preference for the outcome, Sprouse said the town has benefitted from the increased revenues generated by taxes on alcohol sales.

“If would definitely be better for the town, financially, to remain wet,” she said. “I think if the people vote to continue alcohol sales other businesses will begin to look to the town, and they will see a beautiful place to invest their time and money.”

The alcohol vote will be held June 1 at the Cedar Bluff Community Center, located on old Highway 9 in downtown across from J&M Hardware. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters who also wish to take part in the June 1 Democratic or Republican primary will have to make a second stop at their regular voting place.