ON JAN. 6, Savannah City Council has approved a petition from Kechia Matadin, doing business as Island Breeze, for a transfer of a liquor license. Matadin had also asked the council to renew a liquor license for her other business, Frozen Paradise.

Both requests had been tabled pending further review because of incidents that have occurred at Frozen Paradise, which is located at 641 Indian Street. The Alcohol Beverage Council Team met with Matadin on Dec. 16 to review an incident that occurred Nov. 28 when a firearm was discharged in the vicinity of Frozen Paradise.

The team found that Matadin had complied with most demands, including the use of increased security. The fire marshal’s office determined that she had complied with occupancy load limits.

One noise complaint was made March 14, during the St. Patrick’s Day festival, when amplified music was played outside Frozen Paradise during the afternoon. At least one neighboring business owner found the music offensive, and called police.

But most concerning are the several violent crimes that have occurred at or near Frozen Paradise, including aggravated assaults. In the Nov. 28 incident, an unknown suspect fired shots at two people who were trying to get into a parked car near the nightclub.

Matadin has been asked to provide an updated plan to control access to Frozen Paradise by minors and also to provide more security outside the business. Although the Frozen Paradise license renewal hasn’t been approved yet, Matadin’s request for the license transfer at Island Breeze was approved.

Island Breeze is at 1818 Montgomery St. “There are ongoing problems at that location,” Brown said. “However, they’re not severe enough to revoke or deny the transfer.”

In other business, the council voted unanimously to approve a riverfront site west of the Hyatt for a proposed World War II monument.

The Veterans Council had already adopted the site with a 52-2 vote conducted on Jan. 5. It will now complete the design and raise funds to construct the monument.

City Manager Michael Brown will work with the Veterans Council to develop a time line, detailed designs and a cost estimate for the monument’s foundation, which the city will construct, as it has done for other monuments.

The theme of the monument will be “A World Apart,” and the concept being used is the “World at War/Split Globe” model. Two halves of a globe will represent the world split in half by the European and Asian theaters of the war, and several bronze figures and symbols will honor military and civilians in Savannah and Chatham County who contributed to the war effort.

Plans originally called for the monument to be in Oglethorpe Square, and both councils had already approved that site. However, complaints that the monument’s size and scope were too large for the square began coming in.

On Dec. 18, Brown told the city council that three waterfront sites were being considered, but that list was soon narrowed down to only the current site.

In conjunction with the monument project, city staffers will be collecting stories from area people who were involved with the war effort. “One of the most exciting parts of the whole effort is that we are better documenting these stories,” Brown said. “There are many, many stories to tell.”

Brown pointed out that monuments to World War II veterans already exist in Savannah in the form of Memorial Health and Memorial Stadium. But the new monument will be centrally located and visible to locals and tourists.

Veterans Council Chairman Bill Quinan was beaming as he watched the council vote. “We’ve worked together for years on this to honor the Greatest Generation,” he said. “Now it’s becoming reality.” cs