The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

October 8, 2009

Background checks likely to change for Playground strip club

By Patrick Cooley

BROOKFIELD — In light of the re-opening of a controversial business in Masury, Brookfield is considering changing the way it performs background checks on employees of adult entertainment venues.

Township trustees are considering going with electronic background checks on the employees of The Playground, a strip club at the same location of the former Club Pink, which closed down over the summer. It re-opened Sept. 4. as The Playground.

Under a township ordinance, all employees of adult entertainment venues have to provide their fingerprints for a background check before they can be employed.

The state of Ohio is switching the way it performs background checks from inked fingerprint cards processing fingerprints electronically, and revising the current township ordinance would bring Brookfield into compliance.

�It�s quicker and more-thorough,� Brookfield Police Chief Dan Faustino said of the change, which trustees are set to discuss at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. today at the township building.

Faustino has discussed the ordinance with Dana Signer, the owner of The Playground.

�We don�t have an issue with it,� Ms. Signer said. �We want to have the classiest girls we can get, and if the background check brings back any kind of sexually-oriented crime, we are not going to hire them. It may cost us a few bucks, but it�s not an issue.�

While it was open, Brookfield trustees made no secret of their disapproval of Club Pink, but because Brookfield Township has no zoning laws, they had no way to outlaw it.

They did, however, regulate club hours, which they are permitted to do under Ohio law, and passed an ordinance which would not allow club employees to dance completely naked after midnight. In addition, they required employees and owners to pay permit fees of $25 and $125 respectively.

Faustino said the police department had relatively few problems with Club Pink while it was open.

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