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Youngstown council votes not to oppose Crickets liquor license renewal
YOUNGSTOWN
After a meeting between the owners of a South Side bar and those who live near it who complained of noise resulted in an understanding, city council voted Wednesday to not object to the renewal of the business’ liquor permit.
City Law Director Martin Hume met with the owners of Crickets Bar & Grille, 1733 E. Midlothian Blvd., and neighbors to iron out the differences.
Councilman John R. Swierz, D-7th, said there are some neighbors who objected to the noise when Crickets has live bands play outdoors.
He had asked his fellow council members to vote two weeks ago to object to Crickets’ liquor license renewal, but didn’t get enough support. Numerous bar patrons were at that meeting to back the bar’s owners.
Don Holovatick, who co-owns the family business, points out that Crickets has never been cited for noise, and there’s a plan in place to enclose the area where live bands play.
Also Wednesday, council voted to accept a recommendation from a fact-finder on a new contract with the Youngstown Ranking Police Officers union, which approved the proposal Tuesday.
The union members will receive a 2.5 percent raise Jan. 1, then a 1 percent raise Jan. 1, 2016.
The union’s members haven’t had a raise in about five years. The fact-finder recommended 2.5 percent because most other city employee unions received 1 percent raises in 2014 and will get a 1.5 percent raise in 2015.
Jared D. Simmer, the fact-finder, also recommended the elimination of caps on what union members pay toward their health-care premiums beginning May 1, 2016.
The removal of caps was among the main reasons the union rejected a contract with the city in September.
The monthly insurance caps for YPRO members are $80 for single coverage and $150 for family coverage — the lowest of any union in the city.
Starting Jan. 1, the cap would increase to $100 for single coverage and $200 for family coverage. Those amounts are what most unions have and will be uncapped over the next year or so.
The city’s health-insurance policy costs $666 a month for single coverage and $1,678 a month for family coverage. City employees pay 10 percent of that amount: $66.60 for single coverage and $167.80 for family a month.
The only unions in the city with caps in place are the firefighters, the police patrol officers and the emergency 911 dispatchers, said Rebecca Gerson, first assistant law director.
The firefighters are heading to binding arbitration while the two police unions had deals in place before the city insisted on removing the caps. The two police union contracts expire next year, and eliminating those caps are the city’s top priority during negotiations, Gerson said.
Council also approved a proposal Wednesday to move ahead with a $14 million project to replace all its water meters — about 55,000 in homes and businesses — starting in late 2015 and ending in 2020.
In other business, council heard from two retired police officers — former Chief Jimmy Hughes and Anita Davis, a former detective sergeant, who are black and expressed concerns about the lack of minorities on the police force.
Davis and Hughes asked that the city consider eliminating written civil-service tests when hiring officers. Hughes also said there are no minorities over the rank of detective sergeant.
Councilwoman Annie Gillam, D-1st, said, “The city needs a really good discussion on race, and we should do it in a productive and respectful manner.”
Gillam, who is black, added that whites and minorities “have different cultures and we don’t understand each other.”
Law Director Martin Hume, who is white, said he would welcome such a discussion.