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WARREN -- Law Director Enzo Cantalamessa provided city council with an update at the council meeting Wednesday night on the liquor permit issues it addressed at its Sept. 9 meeting and a separate liquor control issue involving the Convenient Food Mart on Elm Road.
Cantalamessa said Convenient Food Mart withdrew its appeal of the Ohio Department of Liquor Control's recent decision to not renew the store's liquor license.
He said the "practical effect" of withdrawing the appeal is "that location is no longer permitted by law to sell any alcoholic beverages." He said it appears that the store's request for a type of liquor license that would allow it to sell beer and wine in sealed containers for carryout only apparently "remains pending with Liquor Control."
However, he said the terms of a settlement agreement reached with the city in civil action the city filed against the store included that the store would not be able to sell such beverages after 10 p.m.
Cantalamessa said a complication arose regarding the resolution approved at the last council meeting opposing the renewal of the liquor license at Alex Cafe, doing business as Rock Bottom Cafe, 1680 North Park Ave. in that the council resolution was approved after the Sept. 1 deadline set by Liquor Control.
Council Clerk Brenda Smith said an email went out to council members in July to notify council of the deadline.
As for the council resolution objecting to initial issuance of liquor permits for the new owner of the 714 Lounge & Grille at 2461 Youngstown Road, Cantalamessa said an objection by council was filed without the law department's knowledge. That objection was forwarded to Liquor Control prior to Sept. 1, so it was filed timely and will be scheduled for a hearing.
Cantalamessa also told council about a request by a marijuana dispensary in the city, Beyond Hello on Elm Road, which has been open a little less than a year. It has requested that the Warren ordinance requiring a person with a peace officer certificate to provide security be eliminated.
He said security usually comes from a Warren officer working a side job. He discussed it with council earlier, and council wanted to wait longer to decide after the business had a longer track record.
The store's attorney asked last month whether their earlier request could be amended to eliminate the need for a police presence except for the busiest times -- Fridays and Saturdays 6 p.m. to close, and 5 p.m. to close during December through February because of Daylight Saving Time.
Cantalamessa looked at calls for service at the business and did not find anything serious -- a person told not to return to the premises, a welfare check, a suspicious person check, an alarm drop, a domestic that may or may not have been related to the store, which is in the middle of a fairly large plaza.
HOSPITAL UPDATE
Mayor Doug Franklin also made council aware of communication he had recently with U.S. Acquisitions of Birmingham, the current owner of the former Trumbull Regional Medical Center.
He wrote letters to three executives with the company Sept. 14 and 15, expressing his "urgent concerns regarding the current state" of the former and now vacant hospital. He said the "immediate physical security and ongoing maintenance of this campus have reached a critical point that demands your prompt attention."
Franklin stated that city safety forces have "noted escalating risks tied to adequate site security ... and general upkeep. Unsecured commercial medical facilities of this scale pose significant safety hazards, attract unauthorized access and create severe public health liabilities for our surrounding neighborhoods."
ATTENDANCE
In another matter, council members voted on whether to accept the reason why Councilman Todd Johnson did not attend another council meeting Wednesday. Eight of the nine council members present voted to accept his absence. Councilman Greg Greathouse voted no, saying Johnson had missed 28% of the meetings since he announced that he was leaving Warren and resigning his position on council. Greathouse said it rises to over 30% with Wednesday's meeting.
Franklin said that he spoke with Johnson Wednesday and he believes that Johnson is "ready to sever his employment with the city." The 8-1 vote means Johnson was excused from the meeting.
PREFERENCE
Meanwhile, Greathouse pulled from the agenda for Wednesday's meeting a proposed resolution granting a preference to local bidders in the awarding of contracts with the city.
It would have proposed that the Warren Board of Control award contracts to local bidders whose bid is not more than 5% higher and no more than $20,000 higher than the lowest dollar bid submitted by non-local bidders.
The legislation would have defined a local bidder as an individual or business, who, "at the time of the award of the contract, has a headquarters, division, sales office, sales outlet, manufacturing facility or similar significant business related location in Trumbull County, Ohio."
Greathouse said the resolution will be modified and resubmitted at a later date.
PARKING
An ordinance that got its first reading Sept. 9 that would have enacted a partial ban on parking on city streets other than in the Central Business District within designated parking spots between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. was amended and got a second reading Wednesday.
At the caucus before the council meeting, Warren police Detective Zach Jones said he researched parking bans in other cities in Ohio that enacted citywide overnight parking bans that started before midnight.
About 35% were from midnight until 6 a.m. and most others have what Warren currently has -- from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Jones said more review is needed before going with 11 p.m., saying he thinks it is "a little early."
The sponsor of the legislation, Councilwoman Tilna Milner, D-2nd Ward, said she is OK with changing the time to midnight. Milner said the impetus of the legislation is the number of cars parked on the streets, partly for the sake of garbage collection.