Serving alcohol in West Columbia could be getting easier. Who voted against it?
Those looking for a special permit to serve alcohol and close roads for events in West Columbia might no longer need the city council’s approval.
The city council voted Monday to move forward with changing the rules for special permits that allow alcohol consumption in a public place during events. Council must vote on the matter a second time before it’s finalized, but if it passes, those permits would be granted by the city administrator, as opposed to having to go before the city council.
The changes would make the special event permitting process more efficient, Deputy City Administrator Michelle Dickerson told city council during a previous presentation about the changes Oct. 7, 2025.
“I think this is a great thing,” Mayor Tem Miles said during the Oct. 7 meeting. “One, it’ll help clean up our agenda some, help narrow in to public business things that really need public debate, but two, it’ll also make us more flexible if [we] have folks who need approval and it doesn’t fall within times that we have a council meeting. It’ll allow for a quicker response.”
Council voted 7-1, with Councilman Mike Green opposed and Mayor Pro-Tem Mickey Pringle not in attendance, to approve the measure on first reading. When reached for comment about why he voted in opposition of the amendment, Green told The State he didn’t “want to talk about it.”
The new rules are set to streamline the process for events held in West Columbia, such as the Gervais Street bridge dinner and the Rhythm on the River Concert Series, that include alcohol or require the closure of roads in the city. Under the old rules, city council has given those approvals, with special event permits needing to be applied for 60 days prior to the event, or four months in advance for annual events, according to the city’s application form.
If the amendments to the ordinance are approved on second reading, the process would be cut in half to around 30 days, city spokesperson Anna Huffman told The State in an email. The timeline for annual events to submit their applications would be three months instead of four.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
