Celina council continues exploring DORA

CELINA - City council members are taking another look at pursuing a designated outdoor refreshment area where people could legally walk around outside with alcoholic beverages.

Some councilors believe such a designation might help accelerate interest in city boutiques, restaurants and other businesses and boost Celina's appeal as a destination city. DORAs are already set up in Greenville, Wapakoneta, Van Wert and St. Marys, said city safety service director Tom Hitchcock at city council's commitee of a whole meeting on Monday night.

If everything goes right, it's possible a DORA could be in place by summer, Hitchcock said.

Councilors seemed largely supportive of the proposal that also was backed by a handful of business owners.

Unlike previous discussions that focused mostly on the downtown, city officials are now contemplating establishing a DORA that would encompass all 26 applicable alcohol permit holders in the city.

"We looked at everybody that had an applicable license as opposed to just downtown," mayor Jeff Hazel said.

A DORA can cover as much as 150 acres, Hazel said.

"It's got to be contiguous. We cannot do islands throughout Celina. It has to connect," Hazel stressed.

City administrators handed out draft maps showing a DORA that stretches as far south as the former Breakaway Rec Plex on U.S. Route 127 and extends north to Plaza Bowling Lanes on 114 E. Forest St. It also would include West Bank Road, Havemann Road, Irmscher Boulevard and other areas where alcohol permit holders are located.

If enacted, a DORA would permit people to walk within the boundaries with one, DORA-designated cup purchased from one of the authorized alcohol permit-holders listed in the city ordinance, city administrators said. The cups would be single-use only, they said.

Councilors would have to determine what days and hours a DORA would be active. They could designate special events or certain days of the week. City officials also would have the ability to shut down the DORA anytime they see fit.

Among the business owners on Monday night vocally supporting the DORA proposal were Cody Muhlenkamp, co-owner of The Anchor restaurant; Phil Moeller and Michael Hoying, who plan to open a food service business at 202 South Main Street and Julie Fleck, owner of Bella's Italian Grille on West Bank Road.

Some of the supporters believe a DORA would increase foot traffic not just for restaurants and/or bars, but for retail shops located within the DORA.

Fleck said a DORA could go a long way in aiding the ongoing downtown revitalization and development on West Bank Road. Bruns Construction Enterprises is busy on its Key West-inspired vacation rental community called Boardwalk Village, a combination of cottages, townhouse units, a swimming pool and lounge area, anchored by the Boardwalk Grill restaurant.  

"Something like DORA … it's really going to create people moving around the community a lot more and when you give them more places to stay, which we need, it's also going to create an opportunity for the businesses to step up a little bit also," Fleck said.

Jared Ebbing, Mercer County's community development director, said a DORA would help foster a social environment that's not necessarily based on drinking.

"I don't think it's about drinking, I really don't," he argued. "I think it's more of just creating an environment where it's people wanting to come to Celina and enjoy the lake and enjoy the restaurants and the shops and everything else."

Hazel made a similar comment, saying "it's about creating a buzz, creating that excitement."

City administrators said they could continue working on the DORA proposal.