19-03-2025
Ashtabula considering DORA for the Harbor
ASHTABULA — City administration is exploring the possibility having a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area in the Harbor, Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere said at a Monday council meeting.
Timonere said DORAs are areas where people can buy alcoholic beverages and walk outside with it to other participating establishments.
There are a lot of steps involved in applying for a DORA, including involving city council and asking for public input, Timonere said.
'They recently passed this in Geneva,' he said. 'I had a great meeting the Geneva City Manager on the process.'
Timonere will be meeting with harbor business owners soon to talk with them about it, he said.
City administration is looking into other parts of Ashtabula for DORAs as well, he said.
'With our population, we're allowed to have three areas considered for a DORA,' Timonere said. 'There's a lot of acreage that goes along with it, so I think if we start out with a certain map, we can always expand it.'
Council approved additional funds for restoration work following construction of an inclusive playground at Walnut Beach Park.
The playground is being built by Capp Steel Erectors. The city entered into a contract with the company Oct. 10, 2024.
The contract's expansion adds $6,025 to the original cost.
Timonere said there will be ribbon cutting with the Ashtabula County Board of Developmental Disabilities after work is complete.
Public works have been getting to street maintenance, Timonere said.
'This winter was brutal on these roads,' he said.
City council voted to renew two levies. One is 1.5-mill levy funding the city's parks.
Ward 4 Councilperson Jodi Mills is grateful for the levy's funding, she said.
'It's been a great asset,' she said.
Mills said unlike other municipalities, the city does not have just one main park.
'A lot of times [people] don't realize all these little parks we have,' she said.
Council President John Roskovics said the city utilizes its levies well.
'We do a great job of taking those levies and multiplying their effect,' he said.
The other renewal levy is 0.3 mills, and is for the operation of the Senior Citizens Service Center by the Ashtabula County Council on Aging.
Timonere said council will later have to decide whether to proceed after the Ashtabula County Auditor's Office comes back with how much money the levies generate.
After that, council will have to approve ballot language from the Ashtabula County Board of Elections. The levies should be on the ballot in November from there, Timonere said.
The city entered into a $11,400 contract with Brobst Tree and Stump Service for yard waste disposal services. Timonere said a contract is approved annually.
