ZEPHYRHILLS — If you want to grab a six pack and make it home before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' kickoff Sunday, you'll have to find a store outside the Zephyrhills city limits.
The city is the last pocket of Pasco County to keep the 1 p.m. blue law for Sunday alcohol sales.
And on Monday evening, the City Council decided to keep it that way.
The council declined to act on a proposal to start alcohol sales two hours earlier, at 11 a.m. — at the same time as stores in unincorporated Pasco County and other local cities. (San Antonio is an exception: Customers there can buy booze as early as 8 a.m.)
The proposal came forward because some Zephyrhills store owners had complained that the 1 p.m. start time for Sunday alcohol sales puts them at a disadvantage.
"If Zephyrhills residents want to buy liquor at 11 a.m., they can drive three blocks and buy it there (outside city limits)," replied council president Jodi Wilkeson.
Wilkeson also said she would like the city to support the lifestyles of all people, regardless of religious views.
Noting that Monday was Yom Kippur, she mentioned that some religions require alcohol for celebrations and the limiting of sales to certain times might infringe on the rights of others.
A handful of local church members attended the meeting to oppose the ordinance.
The Rev. Jeff Smith of the First United Methodist Church of Zephyrhills asked the council not to extend the hours because, he said, the current ordinance was adequate.
"There is definitely enough time for folks to get alcohol if they want to," Smith said.
Council member Kenneth Compton made a motion to adopt the ordinance, but council vice president Lance Smith reversed his previous support of the measure and said he would not second it. The motion died for lack of a second.
In Zephyrhills, businesses cannot sell alcohol from 2 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays and 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. every other day.
Fast facts
In other news Monday night
• Medical director appointed: Jason Johnson, an emergency room physician at Tampa General Hospital, will serve as the medical director for Zephyrhills Fire Rescue. His annual salary will be $7,200 for the part-time position.
• Animal Control stalemate: The city has discussed hiring someone else to provide Animal Control services instead of Pasco County government, but there were not enough votes Monday night to support sending out requests for proposals. Council members Manny Funes and Lance Smith supported seeking proposals, but council members Jodi Wilkeson and Kenneth Compton voted against the idea. Council member Luis Lopez was absent.
• Fire station grant: The city is also looking into applying for a community development block grant of $750,000 to renovate Fire Station No. 1. The money would not be available until next year — if the application is accepted.
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