The Heath City Council convened a special meeting Monday, Aug. 17, to vote on ordering a Nov. 3 election that would let residents decide whether to legalize the sale of all alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption in the city.

The meeting began at 5:30 p.m. at Heath City Hall, 200 Laurence Drive. The agenda, posted Aug. 11 by City Secretary Norma Duncan, listed the election ordinance and two election-services contracts for "discussion and action." Official minutes confirming the vote outcome and individual tallies have not yet been published.

The question on the ballot stems from a Local Option Election petition. The council first received a legal briefing on the petition in executive session at its June 23 regular meeting, according to that session's agenda.

If approved, the election would ask Heath voters a single question: whether to allow the sale of all alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption. Heath is currently dry for packaged liquor sales.

Two counties, two contracts

Heath straddles two counties. Most of the city sits in Rockwall County, but a small portion extends into Kaufman County. That geography required the council to authorize Mayor Jeremiah McClure to sign separate election-services contracts with each county's elections administrator so every Heath voter can cast a ballot regardless of which side of the county line they live on.

The council also went into executive session Aug. 17 to consult with the city attorney on the petition and on pending litigation, City of Heath v. Ken Paxton, Cause No. D-1-GN-23-001939. The relationship between that lawsuit and the alcohol petition is not confirmed in public records reviewed for this article.

Council members as of the most recent published roster include Mayor McClure, Mayor Pro Tem Scott Dodson, Cindy Horne, Ryan Moorman, Johnny Myers, Mitch Ownby and Michelle Thurgood.

Residents with questions can contact the city secretary's office at (972) 771-6228. The date of the council's next regular meeting has not been confirmed.