Eminent domain dominates discussion

Here's some unsolicited advice for Youngstown city officials: Start thinking about another option for spending the $25 million that remains from the $26.8 million federal grant former Congressman James A. Traficant Jr. secured for a convocation/community center. The chances of a sports arena's being built on the north-west corner of the property between Market Street and South Avenue bridges are even more remote today than they were a week ago.
Why? Because a letter that Mayor George M. McKelvey wrote in 2001 to the owners of land the city purchased for $1.5 million will be used as ammunition by other property owners who intend to fight the city's takeover of their property by eminent domain.
The contents of McKelvey's letter were revealed in last week's column in this space. What it said was that Youngstown would not use eminent domain to take possession of the land owned by Eli and Frederick Alexander.
The city paid the Alexanders the $1.5 million they demanded.
However, the Youngstown Planning Commission recently approved two items that, in effect, give the McKelvey administration and city council the green light to use eminent domain to take private property on Front Street for the proposed 5,400-seat arena.
McKelvey and Law Director John McNally IV serve on the commission. They voted in favor of the items.
Justification
Indeed, the mayor said that while he understands the passion of private property owners and recognizes their commitment to downtown, the focus needs to be on redeveloping a spot where the vast majority of the land is vacant or under used. That, incidentally, describes to a "T" the land the city bought for $1.5 million.
This double standard in the way the city is approaching the accumulation of parcels is not lost on a lawyer who is representing a major property owner.
The mayor's willingness to use eminent domain now, when he made it clear in 2001 that he had no intention of doing so with the Alexander site, opens the door for a knock-down, drag-out legal battle.
And when such a battle ensues, Jeffrey Chagnot, the city's economic development director, could be a star witness.
Why? Because Chagnot is of the opinion that "use of eminent domain is fraught with difficulty and unlimited challenges."
He offered that opinion in a letter to this writer in response to questions about the city's purchase of the Alexander property.
"Economic development professionals recognize that eminent domain as a means of acquisition is the method of last resort. The process is acrimonious and, if challenged, a jury establishes real estate values."
The only problem with Chagnot's whole argument is that nobody seems to know how the $1.5 million price for the bridge site was established.
McKelvey feigns ignorance, as does Councilman James A. Fortune Sr., chairman of the finance committee.
The negotiations were handled by Atty. Joe Houser of the law firm of Manchester Bennett Powers and Ullman, but he referred all questions about the transaction to city officials.
So all Chagnot's talk about real estate values and the risk of overvaluation by a jury in an eminent domain proceeding is irrelevant given that Youngstown was willing to pay whatever the Alexander brothers wanted.
Spending public dollars in this manner does beg the question, "Where's the accountability?"
At the heart of the issue involving the purchase of the land between the bridges is the cart-before-the-horse decision-making by city officials.
The money that Traficant secured was to be used to generate matching private dollars so an 8,500- to 10,000-seat sports arena could be built. Traficant made it clear that this was not to be a solely government-funded project.
Mayor's position
That position was strongly endorsed by McKelvey, who said on numerous occasions that if no private developer stepped forward with at least $20 million it would be a clear indication that the project was not economically feasible.
The 5,400-seat arena being purused is fraught with unlimited challenges -- and the taxpayers of the Mahoning Valley need to be heard from before the money is flushed down the sewer.
Note: The area identified by the city planning commission as being blighted includes land, a dock and tunnel along Front Street near the Marshall Street Bridge that is used by The Vindicator to unload and deliver newsprint into the printing plant.