TYRONE, Ga. — At a north Georgia town, residents will soon have an opportunity to see how events with alcohol at a public park could play out.
On May 21, the Tyrone Town Council approved a test run for a market event at Shamrock Park that will include the option to drink alcoholic beverages while out and about.
The Night Market, which has similar events in Peachtree City, will be held on June 12, including alcohol, shopping, local businesses, artists and more.
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While the council approved the Night Market’s operation, the decision wasn’t unanimous.
Council member Jessica Whelan voted against the proposal, telling her colleagues, and the members of the public at the council meeting, that she remained concerned over issues of safety, legality and the potential for risks to families.
In particular, Whelan said at the meeting that alcohol has not been permitted in public in Tyrone since the town’s founding in 1911.
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“Tyrone Parks are no place for alcohol,” Whelan said, reading from a prepared statement she’d brought with her. “As Town Council, we have a responsibility to ensure our parks are for the ‘family friendly’ enjoyment of all citizens. Adult beverages can be consumed and enjoyed privately within businesses and households within Tyrone.”
Whelan referenced restrictions in place to limit how close alcohol sales were to churches, schools, libraries, homes and treatment centers, saying they were in place for public health, safety and wellness.
The council member said having an alcohol-allowed event at Shamrock Park would ignore both the town’s own ordinances and would invite minors to be exposed to alcohol, either by drinking it themselves or coming into contact with people under the influence.
Night Market operator Jason Bass spoke at the meeting, saying he had not had a single incident of the types Whelan was concerned about since first opening events in Peachtree City in 2017.
He said the Night Market’s goal was the success of the vendors and that, in contrast to Whelan’s additional concern about financial impacts, the company does not take much money in, rather that it sticks with the vendors mostly, and by extension, the community.
While Whelan motioned to reject the proposal outright, her request failed to garner support.
Following discussion of the event’s particulars, the council voted 3-1 to approve the Night Market’s June 12 event as a test pilot.
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