BHCA endorses restaurant license for Unity Hall

BHCA’s board this month authorized its president to enter into an agreement supporting limited liquor sales on premises at Baltimore Unity Hall (BUH) events. The restaurant license being sought will support BUH’s catering kitchen and will enable it to provide food and beverage services to individuals and organizations using the hall.

Under a memorandum of understanding to be signed by Unity Hall management and the leadership of BHCA and Madison Park Improvement Association, alcohol can only be served and consumed inside the hall with service not to take place after 10 p.m. on weeknights and midnight on Saturdays.

Unity Hall’s board president and executive director were present as the board considered the proposal. They agreed to revisit the terms and performance standards laid out in the proposed memorandum of agreement annually. The catering program at Unity Hall, besides producing revenue, is intended to provide workforce training in culinary and hospitality programs for nearby residents.

Separately, BHCA’s board also created a process by which a greening advisory committee would set priorities for landscaping and other improvements in public parks and green spaces in the neighborhood throughout the year and budget BHCA funds or raise funding for the work.

A third item approved by the board was an update of the policy governing BHCA’s role as a fiscal sponsor for organizations and groups of individuals who wish to raise money, using BHCA’s tax-advantaged status, for projects in the neighborhood. That arrangement allows projects like the recent Contee Parago Park renovation to be managed by others within BHCA’s membership who raise the funds and supervise the work.

-Bill Hamilton