Mayor Jim Bulkley said it was merely “a paperwork clear-up” resolution.
Previously, the city barred alcohol in all its parks except for Pawnee and Gerrard. Any organization that wanted alcohol at said parks would have to wait for a park board meeting. According to the city, the process dissuades groups from asking, leading to the event ultimately not occurring.
The new language in the ordinance would remove alcohol prohibition in public spaces and instead establish a permit process to allow such beverages in said locations. The event would need to be approved by the Columbus City Council.
Similar to the entertainment districts, proponents believed the permit process is beneficial for downtown, as well as for other parks to host events, concerts, adult sports leagues, family reunions and more.
In other business, the city council OK’d $26,201,578 to go to Boyd Jones Construction Company for guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for construction of the overall Columbus Community Building plan.
Vasicek said GMP will remain the same unless there is a change order. Even if there is such a change order, the project is still within the budget, she added.
