At the Tuesday meeting of the Chattanooga Beer Board, organizers for two special events planned for this weekend at MainX24 were given permits to sell beer.
The Big Wheel championship sponsored by Chattanooga Presents will take place in a parking lot at 1400 Broad St. from noon-6 p.m. on Saturday. Competition will be a relay between four-member co-ed teams on adult-sized Big Wheels. Crowds are expected to number around 100 at any one time. In the event of rain, the plan is to move the event to First Tennessee Pavilion. Proceeds will benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Also on Saturday, as part of MainX24, a street party Glow 2.0, will take place on Wilhoit Street from Main Street to Rossville Avenue. Tents will be set up on the east side of the street, which will be closed to traffic. One tent will be for dancing and will have a DJ, and several others will be set up as bars. IDs will be done at the entrance as well as by each bartender. This event, which is a fundraiser for both the Creative Discovery Museum and for The Young Professional Association of Chattanooga, will take place from 6 p.m.-2 a.m.
Haven & Ale was given a special events beer license for the Cyclocross State Championship on Dec. 14 at 5150 Gann Store Road/Greenway Farm. The primary sponsor for this event is Hub Endurance. It will feature biking on an obstacle course consisting of hills, sand, mud and water. The North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy will be the beneficiary.
Chattanooga Whiskey is planning a New Years Eve party / barrel drop at Center Park at the 700-800 blocks of Market Street beginning at 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. It will raise funds for the Stillhouse Foundation as a way for the company to give back to the community. Victoria Love Events will coordinate the event. Barricades will be set up at both ends of the block to help control the expected crowd of around 5,000.
Great bands from Nashville and Louisville will be the entertainment, said Jennifer Politano from Chattanooga Whisky. There will be live music until midnight and a DJ after that until closing. A requirement in the city’s noise ordinance is that the organizers send letters to inform residents that live within 1,000 feet of the site, forewarning them of the noise. The beer board voted to postpone issuing a permit until the letters have been sent in order to give residents time to respond. The vote to grant this license was passed until the Dec. 19 meeting of the board.
Sergeant Mark Haskins from the Chattanooga Police Department and Assistant City Attorney Ken Fritz addressed the beer board concerning how to better control habitual violators of the Chattanooga Beer Code. As an example, he cited the uncooperative attitude of Edward Daniels, owner of the 45th Street Lounge, whose license was revoked on Nov.11 at a hearing for one violation while a previous violation was pending in court. Upon leaving the room, Mr. Daniels gestured to Officer John Collins and remarked that he would continue to sell beer despite the instructions given him to discontinue sales.
To stop the cycle of penalties being issued that lead to appeals and allows the bar to continue operating, a suggestion was made to not only rescind the beer license but to also determine a way to revoke the business license of an establishment that exhibits direct belligerence. Attorney Fritz suggested the possibility of filing a nuisance complaint related to the activities affecting the surrounding neighbors. It was noted that neighbors in close proximity would need to be involved and be the ones to file the complaints directly with the court. Another idea board member Christopher Keene suggested was to expedite the appeals process so the matter is settled quickly in order to stop the sale of beer from the location once a license has been revoked.
Functioning as the Chattanooga Wrecker Board, a license was given to Carter Gross of Carter Towing 2, 1619 Dodds Ave. A-Class towing only will be done from this location.