Girard's mayor gets nod to seek FBI investigation

What message were residents of Girard delivering when they gave Mayor James J. Melfi such a strong vote of confidence in last Tuesday's Democratic primary? The answer lies in a Vindicator article published before the election. Here's the pertinent part: "Melfi said the FBI should be looking at the purchase of the [Girard] lakes because there was no appraisal of the property, and also at the justice center, which was built without competitive bids.
"Melfi said he won't ask for a federal probe during the campaign, but possibly after the primary."
On Tuesday, the 45 percent that Melfi garnered in a four-man race must be viewed as public support for such an investigation by the FBI. Given that the mayor does not have a challenger in the November general election, the sooner he meets with federal agents, the better.
He should want to start his second four-year term in January with all the questions surrounding the purchase of the lakes and the construction of the justice center answered. Today, clouds of suspicion hang over both projects.
The fact that the city purchased the lakes in mid-1995 from Consumer Ohio Water Co. without having the property appraised troubles us greatly. The construction of the justice center without the benefit of competitive bids makes us wonder whether anyone in city government recognized that they had a legal responsibility to safeguard the public treasury. How did the decision-makers know they were getting the biggest bang for the buck?
Neither Melfi nor anyone else who has expressed concern about these projects has prejudged or reached any conclusions. What we all seek is an independent investigation into why things were done the way they were.
This isn't just idle curosity. The state auditor's office has pointed to the Girard Lakes purchase and the construction of the justice center as contributing to the city's financial woes, which has resulted in Girard's now being in state-mandated fiscal emergency. A special commission has ultimate responsibility for the expenditure of funds.
Appraisal report
Beyond that, the FBI investigation into the Girard Lakes purchase has been made all the more urgent by an appraisal report from Diversified Evaluation Co. of Pittsburgh that placed the market value of the property at $1.25 million. However, in 1995, when then Mayor Vincent Schuyler and city council decided to buy the lakes, Consumer Ohio Water asked for $2.51 million -- and got it.
What is even more troubling is that the city borrowed the money from the Ohio Water Development Authority, and when the loan is paid off in 12 years, $4.7 million in public dollars will have been shelled out.
To support our contention that voters in last week's primary were expressing their support for the mayor's going to the FBI, we would point out that Schuyler and council President Louis Adovasio, who was in council at the time of the purchase, also were on the ballot. Schuyler received 420 votes, while Adovasio got 256.
A third challenger, Joseph Shelby, drew 954.
The mayor's 1,357 votes certainly stand out -- as a mandate from the people to continue cleaning up the mess he inherited four years ago.
There is much to be done in the city, but Melfi has had to spend his first three years and four months in office putting out fires.
Shortly after the appraisal report from Diversified Evaluation Co. was released, we urged the mayor and city council to seek a special prosecutor to investigate the purchase of the lakes. Based on Melfi's strong showing at the polls, he should act alone if lawmakers eschew this important endeavor.