Brenner remains on Council

Conneaut Lake Borough Councilwoman Loretta Brenner has not officially stepped down from her position.

The situation was brought to light during the March borough council meeting, when Council President Richard Holabaugh was asked about Brenner by a member of the Conneaut Lake Community Development Committee, (CDC).

Holabaugh said that she had not resigned in any kind of formal manner. She had discussed vacating her seat with Holabaugh, and with Secretary Linda Joyce, on two separate occasions, but that is where it ended.

Brenner has been absent from several recent meetings due to her health, which would also be the reason for her possible future departure.

It has been rumored that Bill Eldridge, of the CDC, would like to take Brenner's place, if she does indeed leave.

Eldridge had expressed an interest in the seat vacated by Terri Nye, when she moved out of the borough limits, but did not meet the residential qualifications at that time. Since Eldridge has lived in the borough for a year at this point, he would now be eligible.

Mike Kribbs was appointed to Nye's seat and has been a Councilman for several months now.

In news of a damp nature, so to speak, talk of the town moving from dry, to wet, (in terms of liquor sales within its borders), has been a hot topic for some time.

Members of CDC had asked permission to place petitions in a few area businesses so that they could garner enough signatures for the liquor question to be placed on the ballot in May. Some members also knocked on the doors of registered voters.

Mr. Brugnoli, of CDC, brought Council up to speed when he imparted that they had, indeed, received enough signatures. So, the citizens of the Borough of Conneaut Lake will be able to vote on it in May.

The town has been dry for as long as anyone can remember. Other attempts have been made to change that status, but, obviously, it didn't work out.

Representatives from CDC have said in the past that developers are reluctant to do anything in the downtown area due to the dry aspect of it all.

Holabaugh asked Brugnoli if he had any new information and explained that citizens were asking him for more details. “It, [petition], generated tons of speculative questions, most of which I was very unable to answer,” Holabaugh stated.

Brugnoli explained that the referendum specifically states that only three types of establishments would be able to utilize a liquor license: hotels; restaurants and private clubs.

Several members of Council had been apprehensive about a possible “biker bar” kind-of-place coming to the downtown area. Brugnoli said that Council would be able to have control over what went in and where.

Holabaugh asked how the determination had been made and Brugnoli said that Bob Moss, local developer and member of CDC, had retained a lawyer who had told them about the hotel, restaurant and private club stipulations.

“It's pretty much a given. It states it right there on the petition, as a matter of fact,” Brugnoli said.

In terms of Council having control over what ended up in the town, Councilman Mike Kribbs spoke up and asked Solicitor Jeff Millin if they really would have a say.

Millin said that, more than likely, the license would be transferred from another municipality. In that case, anyone interested in acquiring the liquor license would eventually have to approach Council with that request. So, they would be able to say yes, or no, to a license being transferred into the town.

“I think what the gentleman is saying is that the referendum would permit restaurants, hotels and private clubs only, and most likely that would have to be an existing license that gets transferred into the borough...,” Millin explained further.

He also said that a public hearing would be in order as well.

After some chatting back and forth, Millin also pointed out that the only way that a brand new license could come into play, would be for economic development reasons. Other than that, they are looking at a transfer kind of scenario.

In both cases, he clarified, Council would have to give the final say-so. Not only but, any interested party would have to comply with the rules and regulations set forth by the PA Liquor Control Board.

Millin made it clear that if Council were to turn down a request for a liquor transfer, the other party could appeal it. “I am suggesting you'd have some control over it but, I'm not going to say definitively that you could stop any facility from coming in.”

The two words, private and club, caused quite a stir, as many on Council asked questions and expressed concerns about that wording.

Holabaugh said someone had asked him to define “private club” and asked Millin if a private club would fall under the same regulations as a restaurant. He specifically asked if Council had a say of whether or not a club, that served alcohol, had to be in a commercial district.

Millin said that zoning would come into play in that kind of determination.

Another question, put forward by Councilman Billy Paris, was whether or not an after hours club would be permitted. Millin said the odds of that happening were very close to zero.

Paris also asked why the private club wording was included in it at all because the biggest money makers for the borough would really be restaurants and hotels. Brugnoli replied that he wasn't totally clear either as to why.

Kribbs asked if there was a way to ascertain, without much trouble, if the private club wording had to be a part of it. A few seconds later he said, “There's nothing less public than a private club.” With that, some laughter ensued.

Holabaugh indicated that it would behoove the CDC to share as much data as possible with everyone, the public included. He said that concerns are more likely to be eased with more information being known by all.

Kribbs said he wasn't comfortable with, what he considered to be, some of the secrecy. “My problem is that I think this is being done in such a secret manner. Nobody wants to let on what's going on...There's a plan and I know there is, but nobody seems to want to share it with us.”

Brugnoli said that there were no ulterior motives, and it was strictly his hope that alcohol sales might help the town, which is the goal of the CDC.

He also said that it was his idea, initially, to pursue the liquor avenue. When asked why, he explained that he envisioned a nice little restaurant, like Antonio's, relocating to the borough.

So, that was his particular reasoning for wanting the town to become wet.

Brugnoli also raised the subject of the beach playground, which has been newsworthy on numerous occasions. He said that he is still on the lookout for grants and would continue along those lines as much as possible.

Council would like to see the current wooden structure removed and replaced with equipment best suited for younger children. Ideally, any new playground items would be constructed of something other than wood, since it would require less upkeep and would be safer in general.

Holabaugh reminded him that the borough is not in any kind of position to spend a load of money, so grants would be the only option.

In terms of the beach as a whole, Holabaugh said that they were going to have an executive session to go over some issues pertaining to numbers, attendance from last season, and other items.

Council is creating a plan for beach improvements, with the goal of prioritizing what improvements they would like to see and in what order of importance. They will then present the findings to CDC so that grants might then be sought. They have been working on something for about 2 months.

The condition of the borough sidewalks was discussed briefly as well. When asked exactly who was in charge, Holabaugh stated that residents, and business owners, are solely responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and repair of their sidewalks.