A new member will join the Mount Airy Board of Commissioners tonight, just in time to help tackle some key issues the group is scheduled to discuss.

Teresa Lewis is slated to be sworn in as a commissioner at the start of the meeting that begins at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Building.

On Dec. 17, Lewis was selected by the other four board members to complete the two years remaining in the term of At-Large Commissioner Deborah Cochran, who was elected mayor in November.

Cochran was sworn in to her new position last month, when Lewis was chosen from among five people who applied for the board vacancy. After every candidate gave a presentation outlining his or her qualifications, a vote was held among the commissioners. Each of them supported the appointment of Lewis, who had been a mayoral candidate.

The 50-year-old resident of Montclair Drive is the longtime owner of Workforce Carolina and has served the community in numerous capacities, including with the Chamber of Commerce, United Fund and others.

Beer At Street Festivals

One of the items that Lewis and others will discuss tonight concerns possible changes to city regulations relating to street festivals held in the downtown area.

Among the proposed changes is one allowing the consumption of beer within the street festival boundaries of such events. When officials adopted the original ordinance regulating festivals, promoting the local wine industry was the chief consideration.

Now, however, one downtown business that is part of the industry, Old North State Winery, also is brewing beer “and that is the genesis for this particular change in the ordinance,” explained City Manager Don Brookshire.

The beer consumed at festivals would be required to have been manufactured within the downtown Municipal Service District, according to the ordinance wording. All participating wineries must be properly licensed and permitted to conduct such sales. The wine or “local malt beverages” shall be poured into appropriate cups or glasses during events, under the revised measure.

In addition to defining those who may conduct such gatherings, which include the city government and Surry Arts Council, the ordinance contains wording about the times and locations where they can be held. Along with downtown streets, Blackmon Amphitheatre and the Andy Griffith Playhouse are specified.

Among other changes, a city fee charged for multi-day events would be hiked to $1,000 to offset the significant manpower costs posed to the Mount Airy Police Department.

Tonight’s meeting will give the commissioners a chance to discuss the proposed changes and possible impacts from them.

Cross Creek Rezoning

In other business on tonight’s agenda, Mount Airy officials will consider setting a public hearing for a rezoning proposal affecting property owned by Cross Creek Country Club.

The club is asking that five acres at 1465 Greenhill Road be rezoned from a present R-20 (Residential) classification to R-6, the General Residential zone that permits multi-family occupation. The property now is used for the Cross Creek golf course, according to city documents.

If approved tonight by the commissioners, the public hearing would be conducted at their next meeting on Jan. 21.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.