MAUMEE, Ohio — Member of Maumee city council unanimously approved a plan to add a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, during a special meeting on April 1.
"What we're striving for is to revitalize our uptown," explained Maumee Mayor Richard Carr when the idea was initially proposed. "We're creating a 68-acre new business development. You can't create something new and let something else become extinct."
The DORA will be in the area along Conant Street between Broadway Street and Williams Street. Carr says the goal is to create an entertainment district to benefit businesses and organizations in the area.
The mayor explains the bars and establishments that are within that designated area will now meet. If they are in agreement, the DORA would start as soon as the city gets signs posted and special cups ordered. If there are requests for an changes or amendment, council would meet again to discuss the proposed adjustments. Those special cups will be the only containers allowed with alcohol inside within the DORA.
Carr specifically points to events to bring people to uptown Maumee in the evening like Acoustics for Autism, put on by Project iAm, which draws around 10,000 people.
The DORA will mean the group won't need to get a special permit to close a block of Conant Street, according to Carr. He also explains other groups like the Elks Lodge could host events outdoors.
Other communities that have launched a DORA have faced questions about safety and policing.
"Maumee has a reputation for having a very good and responsive police division," Carr said. "We are talking a small area and we feel very comfortable we'd be able to police that. We don't believe it'll be an issue."