Downtown car show will continue

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The future of the annual “Blast from the Past” car show in downtown Delaware became much brighter after Monday’s City Council meeting.

The Vintage Auto Club of Delaware has organized the show for the past 23 years, but the club decided to discontinue the show after this summer.

Jim Clements, chairman of the event, has said the decision was hard to make, but the show had grew beyond what the organization could handle with its aging and level of active membership.

Several members from the club attended the meeting, some wearing their shirts from prior years of the car show. Clements said the club couldn’t have done the show for so long without their help.

“We kind of feel bad stopping it,” Clements said at the meeting.

But the group got a nice surprise when it was announced that Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Delaware will be the new organizer of the “Blast from the Past” car show in downtown Delaware.

“I thought it would be a great way to get involved with the community,” said Denny Friermood, the dealership’s general manager.

Performance Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Delaware has held car shows in Marysville and Dublin and some of their employees have done shows in other parts of Ohio, including Columbus.

Friermood said he will collaborate with Clements to get their contacts to bring in vintage automobiles. The event, of course, is in its infant stages now and its unclear about the branding of the show, he said.

In addition, the city recognized the Vintage Auto Club for coordinating the show. Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle presented a proclamation and what she called “a key from the heart” to honor the club for their efforts to the car show.

“When I first heard that Vintage was going to stop the car show, I got really upset,” she said. “And I just think what you guys have done for our community, for hospice and for all those lives that meant so much — I just had to do something to thank you.”

The club has raised more than $260,000 for Ohio Health Hospice of Delaware. Betsy Ralley, director of development at OhioHealth Foundation, said the proceeds ensured that “300 patients received the hospice care they need.”

City Council resumed its meeting with a public hearing about updates to its traffic laws. Council approved the ordinance that raises the fine from $40 to $250 to illegally park in a handicap spot on the first offense — but caps it at $500 on the third offense. The legislation also clears up the language of other parking and traffic laws of the city: It would add a $25 fine for parking outside of the lines to the fee schedule; prohibit parking 20 feet of a mid-block crosswalk; and clear up language regarding the parking of a commercial vehicle.

In other business, Council:

• Approved final subdivision plats for the final sections of Westport Homes’ Lantern Chase housing development. The sections consist of 80 single family lots on about 39 acres located on Gelmsbury Drive, Connaught Place, Cedar Creek Street and Lanthorn Pond Drive; and Connaught Place and Marblehead Drive.

• Approved a $360,000 supplement to the 2016 Appropriations Ordinance for the design costs of the Glenn Parkway Extension north to Berlin Station Road. The dollars will come from the Glenn Road tax increment financing fund, which will now be reduced to more than $1.427 million. The project will cost about $1.2 million for all property needed south of Berlin Station Road plus $3.5 million to $4.5 million for total construction costs. The city plans to have the project completed before the fourth Olentangy High School opens for the 2018-19 school year.

• Approved the issuance and sale of bonds with the maximum principal amount of $4.25 million to pay the cost of refunding bonds issued in 2006. The original issue was for 25 years. Interest rates are low for long term bonds, according to city Finance Director Dean Stelzer, and by issuing a 15-year-long refunding bonds the city can save about $600,000 during that period.

• Approved the issuance and sale of bonds with the maximum principal amount of $4 million to pay for the construction of a new fire station; and $400,000 to pay the costs to replace the roof of the city’s Public Works building.

Vintage Auto Club of Delaware members Jim Harter, left, and Jim and Pam Clements were presented with a “key from the heart” from Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle, for coordinating the 23-year-old Blast from the Past car show in downtown Delaware. On the far right, Performance Chrylser Jeep Dodge Delaware General Manager Denny Friermood will be taking over the show next year.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2016/09/web1_car-1.jpgVintage Auto Club of Delaware members Jim Harter, left, and Jim and Pam Clements were presented with a “key from the heart” from Delaware Mayor Carolyn Kay Riggle, for coordinating the 23-year-old Blast from the Past car show in downtown Delaware. On the far right, Performance Chrylser Jeep Dodge Delaware General Manager Denny Friermood will be taking over the show next year. Courtesy photo

By Brandon Klein

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Brandon Klein can be reached at 740-413-0904 or on Twitter at @brandoneklein.

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