The Crenshaw County Commission approved the liquor license for a new lounge in Luverne.

The Waterin Hole will be located at 8572 Montgomery Highway in the former Horseshoe Lounge building.

Owner Candie Meads said this will be her first venture in running a lounge.

“We just wanted to have a clean, nice place for everybody to go to,” she said.

Building renovations have already begun, but Meads said she put a hold on hiring and planning an opening until commissioners approved her license.

The next step in licensing will be to hold a public hearing, which Meads has to advertise for two weeks.

In other business, commissioners rescinded the proposed contract offered to the Crenshaw County Animal Society. The deal was proposed last November, but the parties never signed.

Commissioners had proposed a budget of $20,000 per year, to be paid $5,000 per quarter for the next five years, in exchange for CCAS accepting all strays. The money was to be pulled from the county’s reserves.

Commissioners were concerned that the organization seemed no closer to opening a facility than it was when the agreement was first proposed. Another concern was a division in the ranks of CCAS. Several officers left the organization and formed a new one called the Crenshaw Animal Rescue Project.

Since the split, both organizations have taken in the county’s strays. Representatives from both groups were at Monday’s meeting and each have expressed interest in opening what would be the county’s first animal shelter. CARP board member Earl Dees requested 30 days to survey the building CCAS had proposed using for the shelter, a former hatchery located in Rutledge.

Now that the CCAS proposal has been rescinded, commissioners say CARP can have as much time as they want.

“The building ain’t the biggest issue. The operating cost is the biggest issue,” said commission chairman Charles Sankey. “I think the building discussion has taken a front seat to the issue. We need to be more proactive. This issue has dragged on for months.”

In other business, Commissioners granted EMA director Earl Thompson permission to apply for a grant to buy a generator for the sheriff’s office. In cases of emergency, the generator would provide power for computers, scanners and the minimal equipment needed to continue operations. The county will have to match the grant 25/75.