Elyria to get more NOPEC money for energy efficiency; City Council gets update on Fire Station No. 2 and The Bistro liquor license

Elyria has spent all of the $100,000 in grant funding it received this year from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council to help 11 homeowners, but it will be getting more. Mayor Kevin Brubaker told Elyria City Council on Monday that NOPEC is providing the city another $32,000 to help four more homeowners repair heating and cooling systems and improve energy efficiency, he said. City Council accepted the initial $100,000 in February. Brubaker said the money, which amounted to about $9,766 per household, helped 11 homeowners. Eleven air conditioning units, 10 furnaces and three water heaters were installed, he said. NOPEC is a public utilities aggregator that provides gas and electricity to users across Northeast Ohio, including in Elyria and most of Lorain County. Brubaker previously said the program would help the city provide more assistance including to middle-income residents, not just low-income residents. "It may not be something we can do every year but this year it worked out well," Brubaker said. In other business, Safety Service Director Chris Pyanowski told City Council that plans are in motion to improve the second floor of the recently reopened Fire Station No. 2 on Broad Street. Pumper No. 2 will be moved from Fire Station No. 1 on Cedar Street to Station No. 2, which will be staffed by a newly revived engine company to serve the growing southeast side of the city. Pyanowski said that should shorten response times from Cedar Street by about 1½ to 2 minutes. "That'll put that into a new fire asset for us, instead of building a new fire station on the southeast side of town," he said. Plans are to build out the second floor of the Broad Street station, update communications devices and replace the generator there, Pyanowski said. Architectural meetings are in the works and once a contractor is identified, work will be done next year under the city's 2027 budget, he said. Finally, City Law Director Amanda Deery said the 30-day period for the owners of The Bistro on Taylor Street to appeal the state Department of Liquor Control's revocation of their liquor license has expired. The state Division of Liquor Control denied a renewal application by Xanmar M77 LLC, the company behind The Bistro, in April. City Council had voted to object to the renewal in August. The Division of Liquor Control found that the business operated with "disregard for the laws, regulations or local ordinances of this state," and was a "substantial interference with public decency, sobriety, peace or good order" of the neighborhood. City officials reported six criminal cases and 30 police and fire service calls at The Bistro in 2022; five criminal cases and 27 police/fire service calls in 2023; four criminal cases and 26 calls for police/fire service in 2024; and four criminal cases and 11 "undeniably more serious" calls for police/fire service there in 2025. The Elyria Fire Department cited the bar for overcrowding twice in three weeks in early 2025. Two people were shot in a parking lot next door to The Bistro in May 2025 and a person was stabbed in the bar parking lot in July 2025, according to Elyria police. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com