Celina Aldermen have approved adding Liquor By The Drink to the 2026 election ballot.
Alderman Kenny Westmoreland said this is not the first time Celina has explored the issue, as residents voted against it during the early 90s. Westmoreland was the only alderman to vote against sending it to the ballot, but he said the people of Celina have the power.
“It’s the people’s choice if they want to make a change of this magnitude to the dynamic of our community,” Westmoreland said. “And it would certainly change restaurants and things and then change how the city proceeds forward from it.”
At least 50 percent of residents would have to vote yes for the measure to pass. Westmoreland said the push for Liquor by the Drink is coming from some of the city’s restaurants.
“It’s to my understanding that some believe that if restaurants had the ability to make this available, that it would be more attractive to people that go to Cookeville or Glasgow, or to places that have this, ” Westmoreland said. “It also would be something that would appeal to tourists and such. That’s to my understanding. I mean, that’s pure speculation. That’s the talk that I have heard, and I mean, it makes sense.”
Westmoreland said he personally thinks that Liquor by the Drink is not something that would be beneficial, given the harm that it could potentially cause.
“As a member of the city of Celina, as a resident of the city of Celina, but also as a minister, I would see it from a religious perspective that with the large amount of churches and religious people in Clay County, I just see that would be a stumbling block and could potentially cause some rifts and hurt feelings,” Westmoreland said.
Westmoreland said he does not currently have a grasp of how the public feels about Liquor by the Drink.
