LIMA — While a total of 13 ordinances were passed during Monday’s Lima City Council meeting, what garnered the most discussion was a downtown Lima bar.
Robert Nelson, principal owner of Met Place Properties and Lima Meaningful Development LLC, voiced concerns over incidents taking place at Main Street Irish Pub, 318 N. Main St., requesting that council consider objecting to the renewal of its liquor license.
“These events include two shootings involving drugs, a drug raid after hours, loitering of their patrons so patrons and workers of other establishments could not leave parking lots, they have continued to use other businesses’ trash receptacles and they have dumped trash on other people’s property,” he said. “These events, given the excitement about all the wonderful things going on in downtown Lima, negatively affect the ability for us to portray downtown Lima as an area for one to invest or live in.”
Aubree Kaye, executive director of Downtown Lima Inc., echoed the call for objecting to the bar’s liquor license renewal, with the organization going so far as to pass a resolution opposing the renewal and calling for greater enforcement of the law in that area.
“We want to keep our downtown safe and our city safe,” she said. “We have had incidents over the last year where property owners in the area have found cocaine in the parking lot and turned it in to the LPD.”
In March, the Lima Police Department submitted a report to the council outlining all the calls to liquor licensed establishments over the previous six months, noting that none of them crossed a threshold that would call for additional action from the department and not recommending any objections to license renewals.
This process was created, according to 2nd Ward Councilman Sam McLean, to foster fairness between all license holders when it comes to evaluating renewals. However, given the complaints from other business owners, Mayor David Berger said there may be applicable criteria that are not covered by the current system.
“Those interactions with other businesses or clients need to be taken into consideration,” he said. “I do support council taking action to object to renewing that liquor license.”
Third Ward Councilman Jesse Lowe II maintained that any actions taken regarding Main Street Irish Pub need to be done consistently with all license holders, not just singling one out.
“It’s not our job to take away someone’s livelihood,” he said. “And we could pass everything here and it can get to Columbus and still be renewed.”
Council voted to refer the matter to the Lima Police Department and the Law Department for further review.
