Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry says she would like to have a DORA (Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area) for the city this summer.
She made her comments at the March 19 meeting of the Downtown Mansfield Improvement Advisory Board.
A DORA is a specific, locally designated area — often in downtown or entertainment districts — where open containers of alcohol are permitted, allowing patrons 21 and older to purchase alcohol from participating establishments and consume it while walking outside, shopping or relaxing within defined boundaries.
“My goal is to get it to (city) council this spring,” Perry said. “Whether it does make a big impact at the beginning or not, it does send a message to developers.”
She said she plans to have a recommendation for the advisory board’s April 16 meeting.
Board Member Matthew Stanfield asked Perry if she expected any pushback.
“From the general public? I’ve yet to do anything that doesn’t have pushback,” the mayor said with a smile.
Perry said she has not solicited opinions yet from city council members.
She noted that Downtown Mansfield Inc. resubmitted its application to her recently.
“I am the hang-up on this,” Perry said. “I promise that I will move this off my desk and bring it back.”
The mayor said she has had conversations with people, who seem to fall into one of two camps.
“It seems there’s a contingent that thinks it’s better to start small and go big, and then other people think it’s better to go big, then shrink it,” Perry said.
Board Member Jennifer Kime, who also is president and CEO of Downtown Mansfield, said DMI prefers to start small and then expand. She added starting big and then going smaller “feels like a negative approach.”
“A lot of people feel the opposite,” Kime said. “They say, ‘Let’s make it as big as we can and go from there.”’
Cardwell asked if Perry has gotten any feedback from other communities with a DORA, such as Wooster. Perry said Wooster’s DORA is “very permissive,” while Ashland offers a DORA only by permit.
“For me, it would make sense to try to find out how they did things and learn from it,” Cardwell said.
Asked by Kime what the role of police would be, Perry said other communities have not had many issues, with many not requiring police to be on site.
“It’s an additional thing we’ll have to be grappling with,” the mayor said.
Engineer gives update on Main Street project
In other business, City Engineer Bob Bianchi gave an update on the Main Street Improvement Project, a major revitalization effort aimed at transforming the downtown area with new infrastructure, landscaping and a two-way traffic conversion.
The project, funded partly through grants, covers Main Street from First to Fifth streets, focusing on pedestrian-friendly upgrades.
“In three months, I think it’s going to look a lot different,” Bianchi said.
He provided a traffic issue related to the project. Starting Monday, Main Street will be closed, leaving access to South Park Street and several restaurants unavailable from there.
“Access to South Park Street will need to be from Diamond (Street),” Bianchi said. “In order to do that, it needs to be two-way (traffic). We need to do that now to accommodate the closure.”
Concrete will be added two feet north of South Park Street to accommodate two-way traffic and allow for perpendicular parking. In the meantime, there are no parking meters there.
Perry said there has been talk about parking meters. She did not think the city would eliminate paid parking entirely, but might opt for an online payment system instead of meters.
“The square still remains busy,” Perry said. “I think we do need some push to make sure people aren’t just parking there all day.”
She said she plans to bring a parking ordinance to council this summer.
Also related to the Main Street Improvement Project, Perry said a total of eight grants of $2,500 each are still available for businesses that have been affected by the construction and lack of downtown parking.
mcaudill@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: City of Mansfield to consider designated outdoor refreshment area
Reporting by Mark Caudill, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
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