A beer garden may soon come to the village of West Liberty, a traditionally dry village.
Mitch Lingrell, LT’s Uniquities owner and West Liberty Business Association president, said during Monday evening’s regular council meeting that he was looking forward to working with the village and Police Chief Shane Oelker in obtaining the permit for a beer garden proposed for the fourth Friday in May.
Lingrell said West Liberty is going to be hosting Fourth Fridays, events dedicated to “boost the amount of people coming to town supporting local businesses.”
There is to be a small farmer’s market and market vendors lining the streets of West Liberty for the events.
The first Fourth Friday will be in May.
The goal, Lingrell said, is to host a Fourth Friday through the month of September, pending approval from Oelker and city council.
In addition, Lingrell said he has to apply through the state of Ohio for a temporary beer permit for beer sales only which will be contained to a small area with security and identification checks.
“Everything will be above board and that’s what we need,” he said. “We are trying to work with local breweries to bring people in and revitalize downtown.”
Lingrell also announced on Thursday, Feb. 13, there is going to be a business association monthly meeting open to the public at Holdren Brothers Metal Manufacturing, 301 Runkle Street, West Liberty, at 7:45 a.m. with doughnuts and coffee.
Also during the meeting, Oelker presented an updated parade and assemblies permit and a food truck ordinance/permit for council to review and approve at the following meeting
Street Supervisor Bill Detrick informed council, following a previous meetings declaration that he would be purchasing cases of water for his employees after Jill McKelvey, council president, said she did not want village money spent on cases of water anymore, that he had someone try to donate money for the street department to buy cases of bottled water.
Detrick said he refused the proposed donation, but acknowledged that the community showed its support to the cause.
Councilman Al Hyland said in reference to the situation that “council’s pissed off people.”
Detrick also said he wanted it on the record that during a Jan. 21 special meeting which Detrick did not attend, meeting minutes reflected he wanted to be a nonworking supervisor and that he never said that.
“I never asked to be a nonworking supervisor — that is the farthest thing from the truth,” he said. “I work weekends and I work nights and I want to make sure it’s noted I was incorrectly quoted and the minutes are incorrect. I never wanted that.”
Hyland backed up Detrick by saying that he, too, never heard Detrick say he wanted to be a nonworking supervisor.
“That never came out of my mouth,” Detrick said. “My department can’t run that way. It hurt and upset me and I wasn’t happy.”
McKelvey said she remembered a similar conversation of Detrick saying he was doing a lot and needed help.
Hyland said he wanted to request that from now on when there is a meeting that involves street or trash that the “man (Detrick) who walks the walk and talks the talk should be there.”
“That’s so he can have the answers we need instead of speculation especially since we elected him superintendent. He works it everyday and he’s got the right to talk the talk and defend himself and say, ‘No, this is wrong,’ or ‘Yes, this is right.’”
McKelvey said she didn’t want to argue, “but at the same time Jayne (councilwoman Griffith) and I have met to death and nobody knows more about trash than her and I.”
Detrick disagreed and said although McKelvey and Griffith know the numbers, there are other things that need to be discussed.
“The meetings are what the are,” McKelvey said.
Hyland said council should make sure the superintendents attend those meetings because they are the ones actually doing the work.
McKelvey said too much was being said that should not be said in front of the media and called an executive session to discuss personnel.
In other street business, Detrick said he recently met with the Ohio Department of Transportation concerning County Road 5 at intersection 68 north of town regarding a guard rail on the north side that frequently gets hit.
It has been struck three times in the last few months.
Detrick said ODOT is no longer willing to fix it beyond this latest incident and it will now be the responsibility of the village.
Oelker recommended the village get copies of crash reports regarding the guard rail so the offender’s insurance company can be billed.