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Gallatin pastor opposes liquor store near Clearview Park during public comment
Summary
At an Oct. 14 Gallatin City Council committee meeting, Bishop A. Michael Clark urged the council not to allow a liquor store in the Clearview Park neighborhood, citing nearby churches and elementary schools and concerns about equity and community impact.
Bishop A. Michael Clark, a Gallatin faith leader and past president of the African American Ministerial Alliance and the Gallatin Ministerial Association, told the Gallatin City Council committee on Oct. 14 that he opposes locating a liquor store in the Clearview Park area.
“I hope this is the last time that I speak on this concerning the liquor license,” Clark said during the meeting’s public recognition period. He recounted growing up in Brooklyn, New York, and described long-standing neighborhood institutions in the Clearview Park area, saying residents did not need a liquor store nearby.
Clark noted churches and schools near the area and said those institutions weighed against adding retail alcohol sales. “We have more than just I hear people say 2 churches, Saint Luke and, and Keith Stewart. But you have the original Church of God that is a historical church over there. You have the, West Eastland Church of Christ, which is established there, and, we have Howard Elementary School. We have Union Elementary School, and I don't see a necessity,” he said.
Clark said the council had previously invested money to improve Clearview Park. He framed his remarks in terms of community well-being and historical neighborhood context, and said he was not trying to stigmatize business owners but to speak for residents and faith groups that oppose placing a liquor store in that neighborhood.
The comment came during the meeting’s public-recognition portion, which the committee opened at the start of its Oct. 14 work session. The committee’s presiding officer explained speakers are asked to give their name and address for the record and are allotted five minutes.
The council committee did not take immediate action on the point during the public comment period. Clark referenced a prior vote on the issue “a couple of years ago” but did not specify dates, ordinance numbers or a pending application on the agenda during his remarks.
No formal motion or vote on a liquor-license application was recorded in the committee’s public-recognition segment of the transcript.
