Liquor license renewals and transfers a big talker at Monday night's Lima City Council meeting.
Former councilman and businessman Ray Magnus spoke at the meeting. Current councilman Sam McLean and Magnus are looking to get the liquor license transferred to them to open the former Porter Pub and Main Street Irish Pub location across from the courthouse. A local attorney spoke to council about the liquor license concerns about the Gas Station Bar and Beantown Saloon locations on East North Street. In a change from how the vote went at the last city council meeting, council does not have enough votes to pass the objection to the liquor license renewal issued to Frank Lombardo for the Northside Firehouse Bar. This issue will now go to a third reading at the next city council meeting. Councilmembers Carla Thompson and Jamie Dixon said, since the last city council meeting, they visited the Northside Firehouse, to personally speak with Frank Lombardo and his staff, and that's what changed their votes.
"We are going to change a lot of stuff, of course, get better security and etc," said Frank Lombardo, owner of Northside Firehouse. "I have a nice place and they saw that it was a nice place. Life is good at the Firehouse."
Another big topic of discussion was the pay and hiring of temporary workers within the city. Councilmembers Sam McLean, Derry Glenn, Carla Thompson and Mayor David Berger spoke out on this issue.
