Struthers City Council advances emergency ordinance to create temporary outdoor refreshment area for July 12 event

Struthers City Council voted at a special meeting on July 6 to suspend council rules and advance an ordinance declaring an emergency to establish a designated outdoor refreshment area for an event planned on July 12, 2026. The council moved to act immediately so the ordinance could take effect for the event.

A presenter for the event told the council the area will be contained and pedestrian-only, and that organizers have been coordinating with the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Liquor Control. The presenter said the blocked-off footprint will run from the post office through downtown to Liberty Street and Short Street and that "we have 3 liquor licenses," which will be notified about the plan.

President Patrick told the council that city police staffing is sufficient to manage the closed area. "We have enough police department to control the designated areas," he said.

A council member moved to suspend the rules and place the ordinance up for second reading with an emergency declaration; another member seconded the motion. The chair announced the motion passed. The ordinance as read schedules a designated outdoor refreshment area for 07/12/2026 and declares an emergency so the council's action can take effect immediately; the presenter said the measure would remain in force for the remainder of the year unless the council later repeals it.

Council members and staff discussed logistics briefly, including notifying the three liquor-permit holders and coordinating barricades to make the specified area pedestrian-only. The meeting record in the transcript indicates the motion passed, but the transcript does not include a complete, named roll-call vote tally in machine-readable form; the council announced the motion as passed during the meeting.

The meeting adjourned after the vote. No amendments or additional conditions were recorded in the transcript.