TRUMBULL COUNTY Girard puts tax levy on May ballot

Council voted to fix a dam when it gets federal money to pay for it.
GIRARD -- Girard City Council unanimously voted Monday to place a proposed 1/4-percent local income tax levy for city police operations on the May ballot.
Council also wrestled again Monday with how to deal with the deteriorating 86-year-old Lower Girard Lake Dam. It has two choices and doesn't have the money for either one. It passed a resolution acknowledging as much.
Both measures reflect the financial woes faced by the city, which has been in "fiscal emergency" since August 2001. Mayor James Melfi said recently that the police department will face a deficit of about $150,000 in its operating budget.
Dam issue
But the state of the dam dominated discussion and public comment..
Council members approved by a 6-1 vote, a resolution to inform the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the state attorney general's office that it will begin repairs and rehabilitation of the dam when it obtains enough federal funds to do so.
That will meet the council's self-imposed Dec. 31 deadline for determining the fate of the dam. The state had granted an extension from a previous May deadline.
"We have to answer to deadlines," said council member Tom Seidler II, who introduced the resolution. "I felt that the ODNR at least needed to know our intent, which is to repair the dam."
Estimates for repair of the dam vary, and figures ranging from $3.2 million to $5.5 million were quoted at the meeting. The other alternative is to breach or tear down the dam, which could cost from $980,000 to $1.1 million, city officials said.
The city can afford neither, and has $565,000 remaining in a fund created by state legislation for the dam. Most of it has been used for repairs, Melfi said.
City officials are seeking help in Congress from U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Senators George Voinovich and Mike DeWine in the form of federal legislation for aid. They've obtained $500,000 in grants for engineering and site work so far, considerably short of the total needed.
"I don't see what choice we have," Councilman Larry Williams said. "We're sticking our necks out because we want the dam repaired. If we have to money, we have nothing to lose."
Melfi said he disagreed with the council's resolution. "I think we're going against what we originally asked for," he said. "We asked for extra time to get to this point and to make a decision. Now we're doing something that's open-ended with no deadline."
Council member Jim Lambert, who had wanted the resolution to address what would happen if federal funds could not be obtained, voted against it.
Speaking out
Public comments reflected the long and controversial history of efforts to fix the dam.
"If the council wants to breach this dam, a lot of hours of work and a lot of effort will be flushed down the toilet," said former 4th Ward Councilman Chuck Doran. He said that a $1.1 million allocation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "still remains on the books."
Melfi questioned that claim after the meeting. He said $1.1 million in federal money for breaching the dam had been obtained for the city by then-Congressman James Traficant but that it had been "reprogrammed" for other projects when the city council didn't approve its use. He said it was possible the grant could be re-activated.
Doran and other residents expressed concerns about the environmental impact of breaching the dam.
"If we take the dam out and flood that area around the lower dam, then who's responsible for what happens?" he said.
Williams agreed. "If it's breached, you're asking for a flood zone. You're asking for a problem. This needs to be done safely."
The dam issue will be discussed further at a meeting of the council's committee on community development at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 13 in the old council chambers at city hall, Councilman John Moliterno said.