It might take a hearing to determine if a liquor license transfer will be granted.

An item on Ironton City Council’s agenda for tonight’s regular meeting is a request from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control to transfer a liquor license from Tonewood Inc., operating as the Fuzzy Duck, to Morgan Holdings Ohio LLC, operating as The Laidback Bar and Grill. Both companies list an Ironton address of 10 Center St.

“The transfer request is for a liquor license that is location specific,” Ironton mayor Rich Blankenship said. “It is for the building where the Fuzzy Duck is currently located.”

Blankenship expressed his ambivalence about the request and said he is optimistic council will ask for an advisability hearing before moving forward.

“We need to determine who this company or person is,” Blankenship said. “To just transfer the license right now without doing research is just not right. We need to avoid getting back in the same boat we are in now so I don’t think automatically granting the transfer request is something (the city) should do.”

Determining whether a location-specific license still applies if the specified location is unoccupied is another question that needs answered, Blankenship said.

A May 27 hearing resulted in the granting of the city’s request for eviction of the Fuzzy Duck lessee who has until June 27 to vacate the building located at 100 Center St.

Ordinance 14-22 authorizing the mayor to award the state contract bid for a custom fire engine and declaring an emergency will have its second reading.

Purchasing the truck is in accordance with the city’s fire fee.

During council’s previous regular meeting council member Phillip Heald moved to suspend the rules and adopt the ordinance and council member Craig Harvey seconded Heald’s motion. A “no” vote from council member Dave Frazer negated the required two-thirds majority to suspend the rules.

“It’s critical this ordinance gets adopted,” Blankenship said. “In July the state bid prices will change and the cost will go up.”

If the ordinance is not approved Blankenship said he would request a special meeting so, if adopted, it would be before July 1.

The lowest bid for the fire engine of $388,464 was submitted by Sutphen Corporation of Dublin. The truck would replace the city’s current 1994 model.

Ordinance 14-23 authorizing the mayor to purchase new Dumpsters for the city will have its first reading at tonight’s meeting.

The four Dumpsters will serve the Holiday Inn Express and Suites being built as part of the Gateway Project. The cost shall not exceed $4,000, according to the ordinance, and will be purchased from the city’s garbage equipment replacement fund.

“The hotel elected to go with the city for their garbage disposal,” Blankenship said. “With other garbage collection companies as options I’m glad to have the hotel as a customer.”

Council will also vote on Tom Klein’s appointment to the city’s zoning appeals board to complete the late Paul Glanville’s term, which ends Aug. 1.

Ironton City Council meets in regular session at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Thursday each month on the third floor of the city center on South Third Street.