MCDONALD Village forgives fines, takes over lounge

McDONALD -- The village plans to tear down the dilapidated Paradise Lounge building as soon as possible after gaining ownership Wednesday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
The former owners, the Russell Smith family of Salt Springs Road in Weathersfield Township, were forgiven $165,000 in mayor's court fines, accumulated at the rate of $100 a day for several years, in exchange for giving up the property.
Village Administrator Robert O'Connell said the village will tear down the building and sell the 120-by-117-foot parcel at East Marshall Road and Ohio Avenue for at least enough money to pay for cleaning up the property.
The former lounge owners were fined $100 a day in 1994 for violating exterior maintenance regulations. Magistrate Anthony Cornicelli presided over the case, which was moved to common pleas court in 1997.
O'Connell said the roof leaked and the exterior and interior were in bad condition. The building was declared unfit for human habitation in 2000 by the county health department.
O'Connell said he will seek quotes for tearing down the building and cleaning up the site. If the quotes exceed $15,000, the project would have to go out for bids, he said.
O'Connell said the Paradise Lounge was formerly called the Silver Fox and was one of the most popular night spots in the Mahoning Valley in the 1940s and 1950s.