The merger of two Lorain, Ohio boat clubs is making its way through city council. At question is a liquor license at one property that allows for members to consume open alcoholic beverages on premises, while the other property is owned by the city and leased to the club.
A Lorain City Council committee hopes to calm potentially rough waters created by the proposed merger of two boat clubs based on Lorain’s waterfront, The Lorain Morning Journal reported. For months, the Lorain Sailing & Yacht Club and the Westlake Yachting Club have been negotiating to form the new Lorain Harbor Boat Club.
Westlake Yachting Club members have approved the plan and Lorain Sailing & Yacht Club members were to vote on the deal the evening of March 16, according to The Morning Journal’s report.
When the issue came before City Council in February, Council members said they wanted more details before the two clubs would be allowed to be combined, The Morning Journal reported. On March 11, the Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee recommended that the full Council approve at least two requirements needed for the merger.
Council members discussed details about the club location and the transfer of a liquor license involved, The Morning Journal reported. They heard from Safety-Service Director Dan Given and sailing club Commodore Joe Spainhourd, who also talked about the situation in February.
The city owns the boat basin where the Lorain Sailing & Yacht Club has its marina, Given told The Morning Journal. The yacht club leases the space and rent money goes to the Lorain Port Authority. Given called the arrangement “convoluted by today’s terms.”
Westlake Yachting Club has operated for years out of a building at Spitzer Riverside Marina, Spainhourd told The Morning Journal. When the Westlake Yachting Club lost its lease last year due to a change in building ownership, officers of the two clubs began talking about a merger, he said.
Westlake Yachting Club has a liquor license that allows members to consume open alcoholic beverages on premises, Given said.
The lease of the Lorain Sailing & Yacht Club allows sale of beer, snacks, bait and gas there, The Morning Journal reported. But it does not allow open consumption of food and beverages at the site, Given said.
That led to the city administration bringing the merger agreement to Council, to consider allowing consumption of alcoholic beverages on city property, he told The Morning Journal. The situation is similar to that of selling beer at the city’s Pipeyard baseball stadium, Given said.
However, Law Director Pat Riley noted the club would be a membership organization not open to the general public, The Morning Journal reported.
Ward 8 Councilman Joshua Thornsberry said he supported the merger, but would like the club rental payments to come to a city account earmarked for maintenance of the marina, according to The Morning Journal’s report.
Committee Chairman Mitch Fallis and Council members Mary Springowski, Joe Koziura and Dennis Flores also voiced support for the deal, including allowing the consumption of alcoholic beverages at the city boat basin, The Morning Journal reported. The necessary city legislation will include language to create a new marina maintenance fund for the lease payments.
As for the Lorain Port Authority, the Port board and staff have deferred negotiations and details to the city, because the boat basin is city property, The Morning Journal reported.
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