Special downtown district still eyed in Lisbon
Property owner gives application for area to council, action deferred
LISBON–The efforts to create a state revitalization district in downtown Lisbon is back on track.
An application signed by downtown property owner Anthony Sylvester was presented at last week’s Village Council meeting, with action deferred until a formal resolution can be drafted for the board to consider.
Sylvester, who is from Canfield, owns the building on South Market Street that houses the Scratch restaurant. He sent the village a letter in September asking council apply to the Ohio Department of Commerce to create a state revitalization district (RD) in the downtown, which is his right as a property owner within the proposed RD. This would enable Scratch owner Jason Geissinger to seek a state liquor license for his restaurant.
Village Solicitor Megan Bickerton said they needed more than just a letter from Sylvester and created a formal application, which he was finally given to fill out about a week ago. She said now a resolution needs to be drafted for council to approve at its Nov. 28 meeting so the RD application can be forwarded to the state.
In other action, Parks Supervisor Dana Blackburn reported she toured the Columbiana County Park District property in town and it would make an ideal location for a proposed dog park. The park district offered up the property on South Market Street between its garage and the Middle Fork of the Little Beaver Creek.
Blackburn said the area is large and has enough room for a fence, and it has access to water, sewer and electricity. She expects to return with a proposal for council to consider.
Police Chief Mike Abraham reported the parking meters would soon be covered for the remainder of the year, but a two-hour parking limit will be enforced by chalking tires. This is done every Thanksgiving-Christmas season to make it easier for people to shop in downtown Lisbon without having to worry about being ticketed for an expired meter.
To satisfy meter critics, council enacted a program this year where businesses which ask would receive a limited number of vouchers that can be redeemed by customers who received a parking ticket. Only a few have requested the vouchers, with Abraham calling the program a success.
“I haven’t heard anything” in the way of complaints, he said.
Abraham also reported the Operation Big Oak roundup of drug dealers that began on Nov. 7 actually began in Lisbon with an investigation initiated by the late Mike Harty, one of the police department officers assigned to the county Drug Task Force. Harty went on to play a key role in the investigation before his death earlier in the year, he said.
“He will be missed,” Abraham said.
Councilwoman Cheryl Mills said she would like council to consider issuing a plaque honoring former mayor and councilman Willis Coleman Jr., who died eight months ago. “He was a longtime mayor and longtime councilman, and I think he deserves a plaque,” she said.
No action was taken, and Mills, who worked for Coleman as the mayor’s secretary, did not indicate whether she would take charge before leaving office Dec. 31.