River Bend Times

The Clinton City Council discussed a new business that was placed on the board's agenda to set a public hearing but grew into a larger discussion during the council's meeting on April 10.

Council members fielded a large amount of community interest in the Great Revivalist Brewery, which plans to open soon at 238 Fourth Ave in the old church building. Mayor Scott Maddasion said he didn't plan to hear any public comments during the meeting, because they would have to be held until the public hearing.

"I just want to caution everybody that we don't have an agenda item to discuss this tonight," City Attorney Patrick O'Connell said, "So, be cautious and try not to get into the substance. We just need to get the hearing set. That's what we need for that discussion in two weeks. Everyone should keep your powder dry. Be ready with your arguments, your questions, everything, two weeks from now."

Still the council heard some statements from property and brewery owner Richard Schwab. The proposed public hearing is at the request of the city to grant a vacation and conveyance in both the east-west alley and north-south alleys along the property. This is so that the brewery would be in compliance with state regulations.

Schwab shared that he has already invested over $750,000 into the building and the brewery, cleaning it all up, adding lighting and cameras to the alleyways and removing any of the blighted areas within them. He added that he currently has no plans for fences or barriers in the alleys, so they would still be usable. Their plans include some more cleaning up and hiring artists to paint on the back wall to improve the area.

"I've seen most of you all out there and walk through it all, and it's exciting," he said. "Now we're getting close towards the end, and right now we're looking at the alleyway. We brought into it, invested over three quarters of a million dollars for the part of the brewery that we absolutely need. I understand the heartburn a lot of people have on that. We're not looking to put up anything, we're just literally looking to have the conveyance so that we can have the ABD (alcoholic beverages division) [license]."

The council voted to set a public hearing at the next council meeting on April 25, and the council will take public comments on the topic before voting on the approval of the vacation and conveyance. Maddasion allowed comments from two residents in attendance, one sharing that other organizations in the area were looking to renovate buildings and create new uses for the area, and also shared that they had concerns about drainage. Another resident said her property was damaged in construction and worried about the alley bringing traffic much closer to their property. The Brewery has been working on renovating and starting their business as this location since August of 2022, Schwab said.