By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green Mayor Mike Aspacher had hoped downtown Bowling Green would have a designated outdoor refreshment area in place by time the first Firefly Nights was held in June.
The coronavirus has canceled the summer Firefly Nights – but the city is still exploring the creation of a downtown DORA – moving quickly in order to help businesses that were shut down for two months due to the pandemic.
“We want to do everything we can do to support commerce in the downtown area,” Aspacher said Monday evening during a City Council meeting over Zoom.
The DORA would allow customers at participating businesses to take alcoholic beverages outside during specific times and in specific areas.
The creation of a DORA is not just a matter of the city taking action. The businesses with liquor licenses in the footprint decided by the city will have to apply to the state for approval. Those businesses granted approval would have a DORA designation added to their liquor licenses. They would be given special cups for alcohol, that can then be taken outside by customers – within the allowed footprint.
Municipal Administrator Lori Tretter said the DORA requires public notice and a public hearing before it can be established.
The downtown boundaries for the DORA are unknown, but city officials and Downtown BG officials are meeting later this week to discuss that and other issues, Tretter said.
Bowling Green is looking for other ways to help businesses provide safer spaces as they open up – including allowing more outdoor dining at local restaurants.
The city is offering restaurants the opportunity to put tables out on public sidewalks, and in their private parking lots.
Last Friday, restaurants and bars in Ohio were permitted to open for outdoor dining. This Thursday, they will be able to open for dine-in services.
City officials in BG are relaxing permit standards, allowing downtown restaurants to put tables out on sidewalks, as long as a walkway is maintained. The restaurants have to fill out a permit form – but the normal fee will be waived.
For restaurants elsewhere in the city with their own private parking lots, the city is relaxing parking standards to allow for tables to be set up in the lots. The restaurants just have to submit sketches of the planned arrangements.
Planning Director Heather Sayler said some restaurants have already submitted drawings for seating in parking lots.
“We really want to do everything we can to make businesses succeed,” Sayler said.
The mayor noted the recent increased traffic in the downtown area, after several weeks when it was eerily quiet due to the state’s stay-at-home orders. The traffic in the downtown is similar to Bowling Green in the summertime, he said.
“This is encouraging news,” he said, adding that he hopes the additional traffic means additional business for downtown shops.
“Let’s be careful. Let’s be cautious, and let’s do everything we can to support downtown businesses,” he said.
Council voted Monday evening to adopt a citywide campaign titled #movingforwardBG – to align the business community and Bowling Green residents in safe ways to interact with one another. Council member Bill Herald read the language, that balances public safety and economic well-being.
“We have people genuinely hoping to do the proper thing and support our businesses,” Herald said. He thanked Council President Mark Hollenbaugh for his effort to steer the campaign.
Council member Sandy Rowland urged the public to patronize local businesses – but do it safely.
“It’s everyone’s duty” to follow CDC guidelines, she said. “It’s up to the individual consumer. We’re living in a new reality” where everyone has to take responsibility for their behaviors.
“We are trying to reopen BG,” council member John Zanfardino said, expressing some concerns that as rules are loosened, people will prematurely stop wearing masks.
“How well this goes is dependent on each individual,” he said.
Council member Neocles Leontis reminded that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is greater now than when businesses were first shut down.
“You can be affected and not know it,” he said.
Hollenbaugh echoed those concerns.
“For the last two months, we’ve been successful in slowing the spread through collective actions.” Now it’s up to individual choices, he said.
Also during Monday’s City Council meeting, Aspacher talked about the new rules from the state for reopening pools, gyms and day camps. “We want to be very deliberate with the guidance from the state,” the mayor said.
The staff has been discussing the best course of action, and Aspacher said he would likely announce the plans later this week.
In other business:
- Sayler encouraged residents to respond to U.S. Census surveys. As of Monday, the city had a response rate of 63.1%, compared to 67.1% for Wood County, and 64.8% for Ohio. “It’s really critical to spread that,” she said.
- Council praised the quick response of the city utilities for getting the power back on after a Toledo Edison outage that affected a lot of the city on Mother’s Day. “Sorry to all the mothers out there,” said Brian O’Connell, director of the city’s public utilities.
- Robinette reminded people that the annual Memorial Day parade in Bowling Green has been canceled due to the pandemic. However, people can still pay their respects at local cemeteries and by viewing a service that will be posted by the city on Memorial Day. More details will be forthcoming.
- Robinette also encouraged local residents to line the parade route for graduating Bowling Green High School seniors, on May 31 at 2 p.m. The route starts at the high school and travels on Poe Road to Haskins Road, to Wooster, to Main, then back on Poe.
