Ravenna council committee supports Guido's patio, wall repair

Ravenna City Council's planning committee agreed to support expanding the patio at Guido's into a proposed park area after learning it will make a difference in a wall repair that affects the downtown restaurant.

Previously, council agreed to use $178,425 in revolving loan funds to repair damage to the wall separating Guido's restaurant from a vacant lot where a downtown building that was demolished last year.

The vacant lot previously housed a lawyer's office. Neighborhood Development Services has presented plans for a mixed-use development on the site at 218 W. Main St.. The plan calls for green space, a stage, tables and public seating, swings and some additional parking beside and behind the space. That project also will be funded using Revolving Loan Funds.

City Engineer Bob Finney said council must make a decision on the outdoor patio because it will make a difference in how the wall is repaired. The contractor, he said, needs to know if the eventual mural will go across the entire length of the wall, or will be covered by the eventual patio. And the repair work, he said, needs to start soon.

"There is an issue with water getting into the basement at Guido's," he said. "What's paramount is that NDS can begin construction on the wall before the weather gets too bad."

But some council members raised concerns about who owns the wall. Law Director Frank Cimino, they said, recently told two council members that the city can't go into a lease agreement with Guido's unless it owns the wall.

Councilman Rob Kairis said the city should get some compensation if the patio area is leased to Guido's.

"This is city property," he said. "I'm up here because I'm representing the taxpayers. I don't think it's up to us to pick winners and losers downtown or anywhere else in the city ... it's enhancing their business."

Councilwoman Cheryl Wood said Guido's already has agreed to pay for any expenses related to the patio. If the city decides it needs any compensation for the patio, that compensation should be the same as the compensation the city gets for any other patio on a city sidewalk. Guido's, she noted, would keep an eye on the park if the patio is extended, and the patio would bring more people to the city to support other businesses.

"I think it's just the city helping businesses thrive," Councilwoman Amy Michael said. "We are helping a business that employs a lot of people and brings people into our tax base."

Council eventually decided to move forward with the patio expansion and consider the terms of the lease at a later date, so the wall repair can get started.

Wood said a $7,500 grant has been awarded for the project, but the terms of the grant require the work to be done within a year.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna council committee supports Guido's patio, wall repair