BOARDMAN Township seeking repeal of station's liquor license

A hearing on the issue will be held Sept. 24.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- A neon sign advertising Bud Light beer hangs in the window at the Rich Oil gas station on South Avenue and Mathews Road, but township officials say that sign should be turned off along with the store's ability to sell any type of alcohol.
Rich Oil has been selling beer and wine in a dry township precinct since October 2002 without the consent of voters in that area, according to Kim Kotheimer, the township's alcohol enforcement officer. Typically, township businesses operating in a dry precinct must request permission to sell alcohol from residents via ballot.
According to correspondence from the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Liquor Control, Speedway Superamerica LLC, operator of the Rich Oil gas station, applied for and was granted a liquor license last October. The gas station is in the 40th Precinct, which is considered dry.
Township alerted state
Township trustees filed in October an objection to issuance of the liquor permit, alerting the state office that the permit had been granted in a dry precinct. By February, the Division of Liquor Control had issued a letter telling the store operators to stop selling alcohol, but the store filed an appeal with the commission and was given permission to continue sales until the matter can be heard.
A hearing on the issue is set for Sept. 24.
Rich Oil manager Nicole Cerimeli, however, said the store will be discontinuing the sale of alcoholic beverages until at least after the Sept. 24 hearing. She said the company will sell what is left on the store's shelves, but will order no more once that is gone.
According to Kotheimer, the township could not take any action even if the store owners decided to continue selling the beer and wine.
"We can't go in there and say they cannot sell alcohol. We really can't do anything at this point," said Kotheimer. "We can make sure they are in compliance, but we cannot tell them not to sell."
Other businesses
Kotheimer said the situation has not been fair to other township businesses that must receive permission from residents before selling alcohol in a given precinct. He said another township business located directly across the street from Rich Oil requested a liquor license from voters in May 2002 and was rejected.
Speedway Superamerica has placed the issue on the ballot to go before voters in November. There are eight other township liquor issues on the November ballot. Should all nine issues receive voter and state approval, the township would have about 60 various liquor permits.
jgoodwin@vindy.com