Chamber member quits due to alcohol opposition

[Wrightwood]

[ezzpete]

I totally agree. Cars and booze don't go together, and doing so just makes it seem OK. It's funny that first Houghton says that selling liquor is a way to make $$ to keep the event going, then later says the booze sales only bring in a "minor" amount of money. So, why bother doing it if it's just a minor amount?

Speaking as a former drunk (not a drop for 30 years now) if you have a problem with alcohol and it's available, you're gonna over do it. That's just the nature of being an alkie. Afterwards if you gotta drive to get home, you'll probably do that too.

I commend Montilepre for standing up. At least his conscience will be clear when/if someone dies.   

[Jeremy]

So he wants to ban selling alcohol to combat the drunk driving of people who brought their own booze to the event?

Makes sense to me 

[tcaarabians]

Well the Chamber can sort this one out. I do know from experience holding community-level fundraisers that we made more money off the cold apple cider than the beer.  Some people really want a beer.  Most people just want something cold to drink. cheryl o7o

[daf]

sanctioned car events do not allow for the sale of alcohol by the sponsoring organization.  Most car show attendees know that and if they want a beer, they bring in their own.  You cannot ask a business (such as a local tavern) to shut down during an event, it is the organization that cannot sell.

[thehallmarks]

I'm not sure I have "a dog in this fight" but I do have a few observations and comments which are germane--IMHO!

First, I agree with Smitty that Mr. Montilepre has the right to his opinion--regardless his motivation.

Montilepre owns The Artisans Place in Wrightwood and in an effort for full disclosure I have to say my wife and I have purchased a couple of objets d'art from his establishment.  I must say though it was not a spontaneous purchase and required some "cogitating" due to the prices--and more than one visit to view the items purchased.  I presume that is the way most objets d'art purchases evolve!  That being said and with the "mind set" of the classic car owners and visitors attending the event, I would presume purchasing objets d'art were not a priority--so an increase the number of folks in the village might not equate to an increase in sales for his "products"!  Also, it is my observation most car owners stay in the "general" vicinity of their vehicles leaving the area only to view the "competition"--perhaps their significant others shop!  That probably is the rationale for bringing a cooler with your favorite beverage...

His complaint appears to be due to some car owners blocking his business while parked and sitting in front of his store, causing him to have a low sales day when other businesses "reportedly" had a good sales day.  I would suggest--as I have in the past to several of the merchants to have the Chamber conduct a survey to determine the success of the events in increasing the individual stores sale during the event.  I would suggest that there are shops which benefit from the events more than others, e.g. consumables such as food, drink, ice cream, etc.

First, the area in front of his place of business--all businesses on Park Drive--is public parking and I presume the Chamber had a permit for the use of the street.  Also, I believe I have observed several merchants setting up displays--including EZ ups--in front of their places of businesses at times other than during events and I don't recall any complaints!  Perhaps his coming into the chamber meeting with a grudge and saying that his business was being blocked by people sitting down drinking out of their coolers was an excuse for the lack of interest in his products by the event attendees

That being said, it may surprise folks to know I support the idea of curtaining the sale of alcohol by vendors during sponsored events but not for the reason articulated by Mr. Montilepre.  I personally disagree because we already have several "brick and mortar" establishments which have alcohol sales.  These businesses pay real estate and sales taxes which support the village in addition to jobs, products and services to the members of the community.  They need to be patronized during these events also--not have sales drained off by vendors who do not contribute to the community and will be gone when the event is over.  The Chamber is supposed to be promoting it's members and the businesses in the village--I ask, is bringing in competition a long term answer just to justify providing "operational" funds for the Chamber?  Isn't Chamber memberships suppose to support it's operational costs?  Perhaps the Chamber--which supposedly is an organization of businesses--be operated as a "business"?

A viable business district is essential for a healthy community and a healthy community is necessary to maintain property values which in turn benefits all the residents of the community.  For that reason, all residents should do their best to try and support the merchants of Wrightwood before going "off the hill" to look for a product or service; albeit, more expensive but consider the value of your time and the additional transportation cost.

Consider what would the village be without it's existing merchants....

Hank Hallmark
Wrightwood resident for 23 years.

[Leftfield]

To me unless there is an "alcohol police" running up and down the streets, I cant imagine curtailing the stuff whether its allowed or not.  Yes there is law enforcement present but way too few of them.  Imagine writing a parking or alcohol consumption citation and the next thing that happens is being surrounded by an angry mob.

Whats interesting to me is that in years past, there would be all sorts of photos of the event on this website.  This year its zilch...

What I like to see is those who are responsible for this event, passing out informative pamphlets which includes whether drinking is allowed or not, location of public restrooms, where to park and how to park.

[SkierBob]

Tom's Place, ca has a car show with dollar beers.   They also have a dollar beer party on opening day of fishing.  I've always wondered about the liability of this.

In the Town of Mammoth Lakes you can walk down the street and legally drinking a beer. 

I respect this Chamber member for sticking with his convictions. 

[Chuck]

It seems that very often, rather than fix a problem (if there really is a problem), people set up rules that "throw the baby out with the bathwater".  The question is-is there a documented problem? If there is, there are easy avenues for fixing rather than changing rules for those that are not a problem. The chamber needs to keep options (normal standards) open that bring profit.

Stopping liquor sales will not stop the cooler people (as mentioned to be a problem). Addressing & enforcing existing Chamber rules would address that issue.

The Chamber puts on events to bring people into the town, just like other Chambers.  If you focus on beer sales lost to brick and mortar, then you also need to view sales by vendor booths taking sales away from brick and mortar.  Everyone really benefits from these events, that's why you see them all over the place, they are successful!   Business is a numbers game, get more people at your event, walking by your store, viewing your product, increase you chances of making a sale.   

[momlori]

As the ex-wife of an alcoholic - I have to chime in an say that if someone is going to drink and drive, there is really nothing you can do to stop them.  You can make it more difficult but in the end, they will do what they will do.  As a resident, I have not seen any public intoxication nor have I seen nor heard of any drunk driving accidents attached to the chamber events.  I agree with supporting the local businesses that are here already - maybe allowing them to sell on the street and let people walk within a certain area with their alcohol ( Claremont does this well during their wine and beer walks).  By all means, if it offends you, do not participate, but do not place your limits on others.

[tcaarabians]

The gentleman that resigned states he has a moral & ethical opposition to selling alcohol at car show events. That is reasonable.  However, there seems to be just as many people drinking and driving at Mountaineer Days as at the car show.  But, as I recall, the vendors are set-up down the middle of the street and not adjacent to the sidewalk where they could likely block access to stores.

Mom and I would always attend both events and we always visited the stores as well. Inevitably, Mom would always find something to buy. Course, we'd visit the shops when there wasn't an event and Mom would always find something to buy.

The Chamber can address the question of alcohol sales if they choose to do so.  They may also want to take a look at the configuration of how cars are displayed at the show so as to mitigate ingress/egress access issues to the stores.

Now, what I really want to find out is, which stores in WW take vintage, high-end china and pottery on consignment?  Between my Mom and Grandma.. I have boxes & boxes of this stuff. You can pm me.   cheryl o7o

[lynnc]

People are suggesting that the owners of the cars in the car show are drinking all day and driving home under the influence of alcohol.  After seeing all the time, effort, and money poured into these beautiful cars, I believe that most, if not nearly all, are not about to risk their valuable cars by driving them while drunk.

Have there been any DUI-related accidents leaving the car show in our vicinity?  I haven't heard of any. I think someone is making a mountain out of molehill.

[Mama Lesa]

lynnc is 100% on the money with that post. We have been volunteers at the car show for the last 3 years and attended before that and have never seen the event lose control. If you spend years of work and 10's of thousands of dollars on a car odds are pretty low that you will be driving home drunk. Yes it can happen but unless you plan on stopping the sales by the Chamber ( who was the ONLY vendor selling beer outside that we saw ) , and closing all the bars in town and of course searching all the coolers as the the cars park you are being unrealistic. Trust me , that will kill the show. Adults drink adult beverages , and if they choose to drink too much they will and stopping the beer sales by the chamber will not make any difference and you cannot turn Wrightwood into a "dry" town for the day.

Dennis is a very nice man and has his right to his opinion but this is certainly a classic case of making a mountain out of a molehill.

[SkierBob]

this is certainly a classic case of making a mountain out of a molehill.

He's being pro active, after it happens there's nothing left to do but be reactive

Hope he doesn't have the opportunity to say "I told you so". 

[ezzpete]

If you spend years of work and 10's of thousands of dollars on a car odds are pretty low that you will be driving home drunk.

I think the people who drove up in $1000.00 hoopties probably also drink. They most likely don't worry about it as much.

[SkierBob]

Anyone ever go to Huck Finn days in Bishop? Big party floating down the Owens river. 

Lots of beer involved.

Put on by the Chamber and cancelled after someone was killed by a drunk driver. 

[tcaarabians]

I leave you guys with this thought:  My housemate missed the car show this year. He was bummed. Now, he's just saying things like:  "Only 11 1/2 months to go." Oh, he doesn't drink.  Good luck to you all as you make your decisions.  I know whatever you decide it will be in the interest of the WW residents, the attendees and the Chamber.  cheryl o7o