New owner of Geyer’s property requests hearing for liquor permit

GALION — Initial steps have taken to make a dangerous intersection in Galion safer.

Galion City Council approved an ordinance during its meeting on Tuesday that calls for the construction and installation of a traffic signal at the junction of Brandt Road and Ohio 598 on the north end of the city. The ordinance sets aside $150,000 from the city’s Permanent Improvement Fund to pay for the project.

“I suspect it’s the most urgently desired public improvement, and we want to move it along,” Mayor Tom O’Leary said. “We’ve got a set of plans and we’ve got an engineer’s estimate and, at this point, that’s what we need. There’s some discussion we need to have about the plans, whether to add turn lanes. We want to get this moving.”

That section of Ohio 598 is a high-volume traffic area given its proximity to U.S. 30, numerous business locations in the area, as well as the residential areas off East Brandt Road.

“I’ve had people say they won’t even go to Save-A-Lot anymore because of the traffic,” said council member Shirley Clark.

“Turning left onto Brandt Road from either way is a dangerous situation, too,” said council president Carl W. Watt.

No timetable was given for installation of the new traffic signal.

Council members slso voted to request a hearing with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control regarding the proposed transfer of a liquor permit for beer and wine sales, including Sunday sales. The city is requesting that the hearing be held in Bucyrus.

The permit is currently owned by Geyers’ Markets, Inc. (DBA Geyers Super Valu), 230 Portland Way N., Galion. That business is seeking to transfer the permit to Galion Fresh Market, Inc., 230 Portland Way N., Galion.

Joseph A. Janes of Chillicothe is the owner of Galion Fresh Market, Inc. He filed articles of incorporation for the proposed Galion location with the Ohio Secretary of State on March 4, 2019.

Janes also owns Janes Fresh Market in Chillicothe and Mock Road Fresh Market in Chillicothe, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

Council also approved an ordinance earmarking $300,000 for street paving projects in 2019. The money will come from the Street Construction Maintenance and Repair Fund and the Street Improvement Fund.

“I went to the street department and we spent a lot of time driving roads and working with the street department to try to come up with the best way to utilize the amount of money we had,” said 4th Ward council member Tammy Siclair-Erlsten, who is chairperson of the streets, alleys, and bridges committee. “We would’ve liked to have done more than we were able, but I think we came up with the best ways to utilize the money. The best bang for the buck, I guess.”

The funds will be used to pay for spring and summer paving projects.

Council approved three separate ordinances pertaining to improvements at Heise Park. The first set aside $450,000 for the purchase of playground equipment under the State Purchasing Program. The city is buying the equipment from Sourcewell, of Staples, Minnesota.

The second ordinance allows for the use of $70,000 to pay for construction work at Heise Park in conjunction with the playground project. The funding will come from the Freese Foundation, which provides grants to the City of Galion, Galion City Schools, and any local 501c3 non-profit organization.

A third ordinance pertaining to Heise Park improvements will earmark $71,780 for the purchase of a prefabricated restroom facility. The city is buying the restroom facility from CXT Precast Products in Spokane, Washington, under the State Purchasing Program.

By Andrew Carter

Galion Inquirer