In the discussions so far on this issue very little has been done to articulate the relationship between liquor by the drink and economic development. Having had some experience on the subject I thought the

following might be helpful.

In 1984 I participated in a graduate school study at Texas A&M for then-Governor White's administration under a state grant to study why firms did or did not locate in certain Texas towns. What we found was, more important than land or labor costs, the ability of the company to attract talented staff, and their spouses, to live in a particular place determined if the business located there.

Chief among the amenities sought were the type of establishments attracted by the ordinance before our city council, along with good schools, a progressive community atmosphere, etc...

Years later I was in Human Resources management with Sumitomo trying to help that company grow its Morgantown operations. One of the first things we had to do was drop the requirement that professional staff live in Morgantown/Butler County. Once allowed to commute from Bowling Green, the quality of new hires increased significantly. Morgantown was and is completely dry.

Adding liquor by the drink is a real economic development issue. The high profit margin off liquor sales makes larger restaurants profitable. The better restaurants and hotels won't come without the profit potential of liquor sales. Like the late 606 restaurant, they'll go somewhere else where more money can be made.

With this ordinance comes better establishments, with these establishments the quality of life improves, and with improved quality of life come better employers and more jobs.

Finally, while its usually best to bring matters to a vote, I applaud this council for not only having the courage to bring it up (unlike its predecessor), but the wisdom to push it through quickly. We can't display a progressive community atmosphere and quicken development by having a protracted liquor-by-the-drink fight that makes this community appear backward.

Remember, we're already "wet", and outside small town bible belt communities, this matter was decided long ago in favor of people having a choice to drink or not.

Let the council have its way and let's get on with making this a better place to live.