City council this Tuesday opened with a special presentation given by the Chair of the Human Relations Commission, Mary Jane Sanders, on adopted legislation declaring Bowling Green a welcoming city for immigrants.

Eight translators descending from various nationalities were brought before council to read one of the key lines of the legislation in languages other than English. In German, Hindi and other tongues, the following line was repeated to solidify Bowling Green’s commitment to culture inclusiveness: “That the city of Bowling Green proclaims itself to be a welcoming and safe community for immigrants and condemns any discrimination, harassment or unjustified deportation of immigrant residents of Bowling Green.”

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In light of President Donald Trump’s plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Councilman Daniel Gordon called on his peers during the presentation to consider composing a letter to Rep. Bob Latta and Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown pushing them to take action at the federal level to preserve DACA.

“There may be just under 20 people affected in Bowling Green by the removal of the DACA program, but to me, just one alone is a tragedy,” Gordon said.

Alcohol licenses was another key topic addressed, as it sparked some disagreements over new proposed legislation and the investments of Bowling Green business owners.

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Prudence Brott, owner of Sunset Bistro, presented her testimony on her unpleasant experience obtaining a liquor license for her west-side restaurant.

“It cost me 50,000 dollars for a liquor license,” she said. “I had to wait 6 months before I could pour a beer in my restaurant, and that’s because I had to wait for one (beer) to come up. I need to make sure the value of what I put my time and money into doesn’t lessen.”

Brott recalled being told by an attorney she would not be able to purchase an alcohol license from outside the city, despite other liquor establishments doing so in the past. Purchasing licenses outside Bowling Green can be cheaper and timelier, but a drawback is that the license must be approved by city council.

Alcohol licenses are owned and distributed by the state, but an issue affecting Brott is that attorneys and other firms can purchase and hold on to liquor licenses regardless of usage for investment purposes. This can make it more difficult and more expensive for business owners to obtain one of the limited quantity of licenses.

In a 4 to 2 decision, city council voted for legislation that allowed the new Rapid Fire Pizza franchise on Main Street to transfer a Class D5 liquor permit from another town to Bowling Green. This sets a new precedent for the issue and transfer of liquor licenses in Bowling Green.