CENTRE — Following a 7-1 vote Tuesday night by the Centre City Council, residents here will soon get the chance to vote on whether to allow alcohol sales in the municipality. 

A previous attempt to allow residents to vote took place last month, but at that time a unanimous vote of the Council was required for passage. Because Tuesday night’s vote took place following a second reading of the proposed ordinance, only a majority was required. 

Councilman Joe Hall was the lone "no" vote on both occasions. 

Before the vote in front of a packed meeting room, Mayor Tony Wilkie allowed local pharmacist Donnie George to speak in opposition of passage. Local businessman Tommy Loder was allowed to speak in favor. 

After the ordinance appeared to pass on a voice vote, Hall called for a roll call vote. The count remained 7-1 in favor of allowing a vote. 

A law passed earlier this year by the Alabama Legislature allows any municipality in the state with at least 1,000 residents to hold a wet-dry referendum. Previously, the minimum requirement for holding such a vote had been 7,000. 

A local law passed in 2003 allowed Cedar Bluff, presently the only wet town in Cherokee County, to hold a vote on alcohol sales in August of that year. Sales began months later after a series of legal maneuvers between the town and anti-alcohol groups in the area. 

The case dragged on for years, finally ending in July after the new law dropping the statewide population requirement rendered all pending lawsuits against Cedar Bluff moot.

To be sure the town was in accordance with the law, another wet-dry vote was held earlier this year. As with the 2003 vote, alcohol sales passed overwhelmingly.

The vote in Centre is scheduled to take place at City Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 2. Only residents of Centre will be eligible to vote on the alcohol sales.

Voting for state and national races will still take place at the First Baptist Church ROC on Chesnut Bypass.