City Council panel grills party store
BUCYRUS — A Bucyrus business' desire to become a state liquor store raised some hackles at a City Council committee meeting Wednesday evening, but ultimately the panel's members decided to let the effort go ahead without requesting a hearing with the state.
City law director Rob Ratliff explained to the health and safety committee that some questions had been raised within Council about a variety of items sold in Ehrhart's Party Store, 108 N. Lane St., which is owned by Bob and Wanda Berry. He described the items, such as scales and tobacco rolling papers, as "dual-use products."
"They survive in a gray area of the law. Drug paraphernalia is illegal in context; it can also be used for tobacco," Ratliff said.
Wanda Berry informed the committee that Ehrhart's recently removed the products from its shelves, but committee member Bill O'Rourke asked her if the business would resume selling them if a state issue legalizing the recreational and medicinal use of marijuana is approved by voters in next month's election.
"It's not illegal for us to sell those. We have no intention of selling those, but I don't know what the future holds," Berry said. The conversation between O'Rourke and the Berrys then became contentious.
"I would not tell you how to run your business, and I expect the same courtesy," Wanda Berry said.
However, the committee ultimately voted against requesting a hearing on the store's liquor license application, with O'Rourke joining the unanimous vote after being informed by Ratliff that the license, if granted by the state, can be looked at again when it comes up for renewal in a year.
Three other Council committees met Wednesday evening. The public lands and buildings panel heard from Michelle Failor of the Crawford County Partnership for Education & Economic Development and Ann Winegar of SME Inc., an environmental consulting firm in northeast Ohio.
The two detailed work being done with a U.S. EPA brownfield grant at the site of an abandoned gas station at the corner of East Mansfield and Iron streets. Winegar said there's reason to believe underground gas tanks are still on the property, and added that the site could be a good candidate for a state program to clean up such sites.
"I don't believe they're out there to make someone responsible for someone else's bad choices. It's potential for improvement," Failor said, although Winegar observed that the location probably isn't a good prospect for a business.
Ratliff, however, noted that the city has no jurisdictional mechanism to take over the property, and that it would be up to the county treasurer to foreclose on the property for failure to pay taxes. The city can, however, obtain a search warrant to go on the property, and the committee voted to proceed with the second phase of the brownfield work and do some environmental sampling at the site.
In other business, Gary Frankhouse, executive director of the Crawford County Partnership, delivered what he called his sales pitch to the Council's economic development committee, as he touted the benefits of the city investing in the partnership's efforts to promote economic development in Bucyrus. At present the city does not contribute any funds to the partnership.
"The county commissioners and industry have been investors in us for years, the cities have not," Frankhouse said, adding that the city of Galion is considering giving $40,000 to $50,000 a year.
"We need you, we have momentum. I really see that east-west thing breaking down," he said.
"The passion you see is real, and they deserve our support," Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser said. The committee voted to consider the partnership's request at a future meeting.
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