Merger discussion about Catawba, Taylorsville ABC boards next week

By: Sharon McBrayer | Hickory Daily Record
Published: January 06, 2012

HICKORY --

Catawba County commissioners will likely soon be deciding whether the Catawba County ABC Board should take on managing the Taylorsville ABC Store and merge the two boards.

That question is on commissioners’ subcommittee agenda next week. The subcommittee will decide whether to put it on the Catawba County Board of Commissioners agenda for its meeting on Jan. 17.

According to information from the county, the Taylorsville Town Council and the Catawba County ABC Board are asking commissioners to approve the measure.

The merger would save the Taylorsville ABC board money, would allow daily checks and balances, allow better product selection and add someone with many years of experience operating an ABC Store, the information says. The store and board have existed since 1965.

According to the minutes from the Dec. 8 meeting of the Taylorsville Town Council, the merger is expected to save the town around $6,000 a year. The town also would see a one-time cash influx, possibly as much as $80,000, from selling its alcohol inventory to Catawba County ABC, according to information from the Catawba County.

Catawba County ABC stores General Manager Ray Abernathy has been managing the Taylorsville store since June, when the previous manager of the Taylorsville store was fired. It says Abernathy hasn’t received additional pay for his management at the Taylorsville store.

In return for managing the Alexander County store, Catawba County would get .5 percent of the gross annual sales of the store, according to the conditions of the proposed consolidation.

Alexander will be able to appoint one board member to the consolidated six-person ABC board, while Catawba will appoint the remaining members. According to the minutes from Alexander’s Dec. 8 meeting, Kim Brown, who serves as the chair of the Alexander ABC board was voted to be Alexander’s representative to the merged board. The Alexander store would remain in its current location with Taylorsville retaining the option to re-establish its own ABC board at any time.

Taylorsville Town Manager David Odom said the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission encourages single stores to merge with larger ABC boards.

Odom said the merger would not change the way alcohol is sold in Taylorsville.