Mentor city council working on solution to keep car show on track

MENTOR, Ohio (WOIO) - Mentor City Council continues to search for options to save the Roar by the Shore car show from cancellation weeks before it’s set to start.

“I did make a few calls,” said council president Matthew Donovan in an interview Wednesday with 19 News. “I think I’m going on the right path, and I’m feeling positive about what’s going to happen.”

The car show and fundraiser for veterans services like the Fisher House has been a staple at Mentor Beach Park for seven years. Now, it hangs in the middle of a legal mix-up.

Mentor city leaders said they cannot provide the public park to a private organizer for the event: “We do not rent out our parks in their entirety for private parties.”

Veterans who attended yesterday’s city council meeting believe something can be worked out. “This is for our veterans,” one said, “they are doing this for the Fischer House, and we need to support our veterans.”

Since its inception, Roar on the Shore has been a volunteer project with no municipal sponsor. Given the city of Mentor’s policy on public places, it is still not clear how Roar on the Shore was granted permission for its previous seven events.

“That is a good question, that’s something that we’ll talk about and get to the bottom of that,” said Donovan.

Council president Donovan also hopes to have an answer to the car show’s limbo state soon: “I may be able to share some results tomorrow.”

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