Tonight the Mineola City council voted unanimously to renew the contract of EZ Mart Inc. in Mineola.

The council chamber was standing room only. Speakers for the leveling of EZ Mart, including Mineola Mayor Bo Whitus, spoke of merchants in downtown Mineola who are hurting because of a lack of parking.

Councilman John Storace pointed out that not one single downtown merchant or restaurant was at the meeting. When I mentioned this, Mayor Whitus told me that many downtown merchants did not want to speak publicly about the lack of parking and their opposition to the renewal because it would hurt their business.

A representative of EZ Mart was at the meeting and spoke to the council in the public forum. He stated that EZ Mart would do a complete facelift on the business and install new gas pumps and underground tanks.

End result? Mineola is getting a new, shiny EZ Mart.

Scott Hazard – Mineola Buzz

Sometimes my intrigue gets the best of me. Today that intrigue led me to a sit-down with Warren Brown of Mineola.  Mr. Brown was very nice and very gracious to offer a me a few moments of his time while at his office at City National Bank, Mineola.

I asked Mr. Brown to  summarize the reasons for wanting the city to raze the EZ Mart and put a parking lot in that spot. His answer was that for a long time, leaders of the city have realized that they need more parking downtown. Adding parking to downtown will draw more people to local businesses and generate more tax revenue and income for the city.

My next question was: Will that parking lot generate enough income for the city to offset the loss of revenue generated by EZ Mart?

According to Mr. Brown, the EZ Mart is #2 in alcohol sales in Mineola, there is “no way they’re going to abandon Mineola.” Mr. Brown has it on good authority that if the city did not renew the lease, that EZ Mart would have a new store built and open by the time the original lease runs out. When asked if EZ Mart had been formally approached about this, he said he did not know if they had or not. When asked who owns the EZ Mart, Mr. Brown could not tell me who owns it. Mr. Brown is the Chairman of the Mineola Industrial and Economic Commission.

Is it the fact that EZ Mart sells beer and wine that is causing some people to have a problem with it?

Mr. Brown stated that he knows two former employees of EZ Mart who felt unsafe working nights, many “drunks” come into the store and the clerks apparently are sometimes uncomfortable with that. Being a former overnight clerk at a 7-11 in Arlington, I can understand that, but it is part of the job and that would not change at a new location. Mr. Brown then stated that the EZ Mart does seem to attract some “unsavory characters” because it brings people in to the town from outlaying areas to purchase beer and wine. Statistics at the Mineola Police Department will show a non-noticeable move in alcohol-related crimes in Mineola since the 2011 election when propositions one and two were approved by the voters of Mineola.

I came right out and asked Mr. Brown if the beer trucks were a problem. He replied that many people have complained about them being parked next to the Mineola First Baptist Church and Youth Center. I am in no position to make any offers on behalf of anyone, but to that I had to ask if the beer was delivered by non-branded trucks if that would make things any better. The answer was that every little bit helps, but in general, no. I see beer trucks at EZ Mart during the day on weekdays. I have never seen beer trucks or any other type of trucks for that matter, at the EZ Mart during or even close to church services or events.

When asked about the cost of removing the underground tanks and the cost of the associated cleanup, Mr. Brown initially stated that this would be the responsibility of EZ Mart. Since the city owns the land and EZ Mart leases it, we would then essentially tell a thriving Mineola business that they have to relocate then come back and clean up the previous location. I can’t imagine any business in that situation that would do that. After we discussed that point for a moment, he was also questioning how that scenario would work out.

When asked about the employees at the EZ Mart, Mr. Brown’s response was that if the company relocates, there would be more employees. When asked what would happen if they did not relocate, he referred to these as “minimum wage jobs.”

Mr. Brown stated that there are two large churches adjacent to the EZ Mart and that seems to be a problem with some. Soon after the 2011 beer/wine election, city officials were tasked with determining if EZ Mart was far enough away from the churches to legally sell beer and wine. Obviously, that determination was a “yes.”

In summary, my conversation with Warren Brown gained this:
I never said the word “church.” He used that word multiple times. If the EZ Mart draws unsavory characters, relocating it will only get them away from the church. The logic leads to a conclusion that the churches seem to be spearheading this movement. This theme was also mentioned by several commenters on our Facebook page.

I’d like to thank Mr. Brown for his time. Upon parting, I mentioned that I would see him at Monday night’s City Council meeting and he assured me he would be there.

If you are concerned about a small minority of people using their power to make changes to our town that the majority does not want, come to the City Council meeting on Monday, January 23rd at 6:00 PM. Your city needs to hear your voices! The city of Mineola is NOT behind this effort. They will, however, be the ones to act on it one way or another.

Scott Hazard – MineolaBuzz.com

At the 1-19-2012 City Council workshop at Mineola City Hall, a petition was presented to the Council asking them to not renew the lease for the EZ Mart in Mineola. Not only does this group want to not renew the lease, they want the city to foot the bill for removing the building, removing the underground fuel tanks and then pave the lot for parking.

Whether you like the EZ Mart or not, the fact remains that it is a thriving business in the city of Mineola. It generates sales tax revenue, it consumes utilities, it employs 8-10 people and it provides a valuable service to the people of Mineola in that it is open 24/7 for any emergency needs they may have in the middle of the night. Being open around the clock also serves those who go to work early, sportsmen who are out early and anyone else who might need something during the overnight hours.

When the EZ Mart lease came up on the agenda at last night’s meeting, it was referred to executive session, meaning that the council will meet on it privately before Monday’s regular City Council meeting. The council then may or may not bring it up for open discussion during the regular, public, city council meeting.

We mentioned this on our Facebook page last night and have gotten several comments from various viewpoints.

In the name of public information, we have provided a PDF copy of each of the petitions. They are worded slightly differently, but both ask for the same end result. We did not feel it necessary to print the addresses of those signing the petition, so they have been erased from the pages. Names that were scratched out were also removed.

Petition 1 –  Petition 2

If this is an issue that is of interest to you, please attend the Monday, January 23rd meeting of the Mineola City Council at City Hall at 5:30.

The sales tax allocation figures for July have been published by the State Comptroller’s Office.

In July, 2011, Mineola received $125,667 in sales tax proceeds from the state, compared to $105,571 in July of 2010, a monetary increase of $20,096 for the city of Mineola.

This is, no doubt, largely attributable to the delivery of beer and wine to local stores in late June and early July.

This is more money that can be spent on roads, emergency services and other necessary maintenance and upkeep of our town.

In a phone conversation with David Stevenson, Mineola City Administrator, it was confirmed that during this period the city saw no increase in alcohol-related crimes or arrests.

The state of Texas collects sales tax and distributes it back to municipalities. This process takes place over a 30-40 day period, making the September sales tax posting reflect actual taxes collected in July.

2011 vs. 2010 Sales Tax Collection for Mineola, Texas

Local bands have until July 31st to enter the Battle of the Bands event at the Mineola Gypsy Market Music & Arts Festival.

The winner will walk away that day with $2000 in cash winnings. Ten bands will compete in the event to be held on Saturday, October 8, 2011.

Interested parties can download and print all necessary entry forms and read the complete rules at the Gypsy Market web site.

The Mineola Gypsy Market is produced in conjunction with the City of Mineola. This is the 4th event in a 3 year period. This event is now an annual event that takes place in October.

Admission is always free to the Gypsy Market and there is always ample free and close parking.

It promises to be a day of good music, fun, games and lots of activity for the kids and ALWAYS plenty to eat and drink.

Again, the deadline for bands to enter the Battle of the Bands is July 31st, so get to the Gypsy Market web site and get your entry forms now and get entered so you can win the $2000 cash first prize.

Battle of the Bands in Mineola. $2000 Cash First Prize!

Pat Wood (left) and Pat Hamlett (right) pose with the first alcohol sold in Mineola since prohibition.

History was made in Mineola on June 29, 2011 when the first alcohol was sold since the inception of prohibition on June 30, 1919. Hamlett was the chair of the committee responsible for getting the alcohol propositions of the May 2011 ballot.

Stores in Mineola may now sell beer and wine on a packaged, off-premise consumption basis. Restaurants may have a full bar as long as they meet the requirement that 51% or more of their total sales are derived from food sales.

Many other East Texas towns are realizing the additional sales tax dollars associated with alcohol sales. Recently, the town of Alba, Texas also enacted similar laws. Emory enacted beer and wine sales two years ago and public records show additional tax revenue to be $80,000+.

Follow MineolaBuzz on Twitter. @mineolabuzz

June 28, 2011 is the day that beer arrived in Mineola and, of course, Mineola Buzz brings you the story first.

Pat Hamlett bought the first beer, a six-pack of Miller Lite, at Brookshire’s this morning.

James Dear is 94, sharp as a tack and knows just about everything there is to know about Mineola.

In this chat, we discussed his career at the Select Theater, events of the town, local music, his work with the Meredith Foundation, gunfights, bootlegging, Bonnie & Clyde and much more.

This video is 1 1/2 hours, so watch it on your own time, but it is good stuff. Mr. Dear is not only lucid, but sharp as a tack when it comes to this town and the events of the last hundred years or so.

Enjoy!

James Dear tells a story about Mineola.

The 6-1-2011 edition of the Mineola Monitor is worth the 50 cents it costs just to read Kenneth Teo’s letter to the editor.

Please pardon my cynical nature, but how much more dramatic can a letter be? Really? May 14, 2011 is the saddest day in Mineola’s history? Even sadder than school officials going to jail for improper relations with students? Really?

Oh, one more thing, Mr. Teo. That dark cloud you refer to in your letter, that is more commonly known as nighttime. The sun came up on May 15th and it has every day since. We even made it through the end of the world that was supposed to happen on May 21.

Want to see sad? What happened to Joplin, Missouri is sad. What happened to Tuscaloosa, Alabama is sad. With all due respect, what happened in Mineola on May 14th, sir, is progress!

This issue has drawn nearly as many emotional responses as the alcohol issue did. Because we are not a merchant within the historic overlay district of Mineola, we have remained silent about this.

As I listened to people discuss this issue tonight, I was overcome with the level of fear on the behalf of citizens and council members alike, fear that if we allow this man to open a pawn shop in Mineola, that a sea of pawn shops would soon follow. It’s a good thing our founding fathers had a greater vision than to worry about the hypothetical.

Rob Carter of The Ponderosa make his case in city hall.

Simple laws of economics will dictate saturation levels that a local economy can support of a given type of business. Ask any antique shop owner in any of these East Texas towns and they will certainly agree with the principles of over-saturation that lead to diminishing returns.

I understand that laws and ordinances are set forth for the long term, but isn’t the principle of modern conservative economics to let the markets dictate what will and what will not last? Or is it that nobody wants to be next to the pawn shop? We have multiple small loan companies in the historic overlay district. Are they really any different than pawn shops?

After this town voted to repeal prohibition I was excited at the surge of progress. What I saw tonight was the quashing of progress in the name of “What if…” scenarios that may or may never come true and are driven by fear.

Kudos to Rob Carter of Ponderosa for doing what he thinks is right and for taking his fight to the council. Hopefully his pioneering spirit will be rewarded by having a successful business despite some members of his community and government rallying against him.

On May 14, 2011 the voters of Mineola came out to vote and voted for Propositions 1 & 2. The rhetoric was hot and heavy and both sides seemed very emotionally charged. At the end of the day, the prospect of extra sales tax dollars won out over the fear of our town becoming a haven for sin, crime and other evil things.

The video below is the announcement from David Stevenson, City Administrator. The video just below that is just for fun. I cannot take credit for the very appropriate music video. It was suggested to me by a friend. If that person wishes for people to know their identity, they can make that known.

The numbers are:
Prop 1
For: 440
Against: 419

Prop 2
For: 441
Against: 406

Congratulations to the people of Mineola!

Mineola Texas has many fine eating establishments. The pizza at Taste of Italy is second to none. Their pasta dishes are also very good, very nice portions, all homemade with fresh ingredients and their prices are great. Best of all, when dining at Taste of Italy, you are supporting a locally-owned establishment where the owner of the restaurant is in the kitchen cooking your food.

Taste of Italy
113 East Commerce Street
Mineola, TX 75773-2047
(903) 569-9666

Wing Dingers is also a nice place for pizza and wings in Mineola. They are a take-out restaurant. At this point, I have not tried their pizza, but their wings are delicious.

Wing Dingers
1110 N Pacific St
Mineola, TX, 75773-1840
(903) 569-1113

The other pizza place in Mineola apparently does not want to serve beer and/or wine, even though most of their restaurants that I have been in serve beer.

Let’s face it, pizza and beer go together. Apparently, the local management of this restaurant does not see it that way and chooses to act against Mineola collecting the sales tax it needs to prosper. They have a choice and so do we.

Location of Taste of Italy

Location of Wing Dingers

We need people to work the polling places tomorrow, Saturday, May 14th. This simply consists of being present, standing the legal distance from the polling station and holding a sign for Propositions 1 & 2.

This may sound like a fruitless activity, but the bottom line is that we can guarantee that the other side will be represented at the polls, so we need people there to represent the correct side as well.

If you can do this for any time at all, please contact Pat Hamlet at 903-920-4103. You can call or text this number.

Again, there are no shifts and you are not required to stay for any period of time. Any time that you can donate, whether you are a resident of Mineola or not, will make a difference.

Thank you for doing your part to convince the people of Mineola to VOTE YES FOR PROPOSITIONS 1 & 2.