Cleveland City Council moving ahead with beer, wine sales plan

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland City Council has voted to proceed with the process of allowing Beer and Wine sales in the city of Cleveland.

In what was described as kind of historic, the council voted 3-1 Monday night to start the process.

Following a presentation to detail the results of a series of summer listening sessions and survey forms filled out by citizens, councilman Rush Mauney offered the motion which calls on the city clerk to prepare and submit to the mayor and council for their consideration a draft ordinance which if adopted would authorize and regulate the sale of beer and wine in the city. Mauney called for the ordinance to be submitted on or before November 7.

Councilman Bradley Greene vote no and said he was following the wishes of a number of citizens he had talked with and his on personal pledge made when he ran for office. But Greene said, now that the council has approved the process that he will fully support the process.

Businessman Ed Ward has been spearheading efforts to have alcohol sales approved in the city for years and said he's glad the council is moving ahead on the matter, adding, "if they had done this three years ago they could have save a lot of jobs and businesses."

The council will hold two readings of the ordnance prior to adoption, which is expected to come at the November 14 meeting