MIDDLETOWN – Middletown City Council can now vote on the Hollywoodland project, but members still recommend waiting.
Council is considering a development contract with Main Street Community Capital for Hollywoodland, an entertainment-themed, mixed-use project estimated to cost about $1.3 billion.
The contract has been in limbo because three of the five councilmembers planned to abstain from voting due to potential conflicts of interest.
Councilmember Joe Mulligan said he would abstain because his family members own property adjacent to the proposed development site.
Councilmembers Monica Nenni and Ami Vitori own businesses downtown. They reached out to the Ohio Ethics Commission for opinions on whether they should vote on the project. Vitori and Nenni said Tuesday night that they received their opinions from the commission and they can now vote.
Vitori suggested doing nothing about the Hollywoodland project so that the next council can decide when new members take office in January. She said the city could then hold a six-week town hall to give the project “a fair shake."
"I propose that the project be judged on its true merits," she said at the council meeting on Tuesday. "There are so many good things that people don't know about it."
Nenni agreed.
Mayor Nicole Condrey said she believes the project has already been given a fair shake but that she has no problem letting the new council vote on it.
Zach Ferrell and Rodney Muterspaw will join replace Mulligan and Vitori on the council in January. Both Ferell and Muterspaw have said they would vote against the Hollywoodland agreement because of the lack of community support.
Ferrell told The Enquirer he knocked on 1,300 doors in his campaign and met three people who supported Hollywoodland. Residents have regularly spoken against the project during citizen comments at recent council meetings.
It's unclear whether a new council will be able to vote on the development agreement. Middletown spokesperson Shelby Quinlivan said the option agreements for the project sites will expire in December before the new councilmembers take office.
Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at [email protected] to find out how you can help fund her work.
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