CITY GOVERNMENT Canfield wants to annex four acres it has bought

The move could get the city closer to annexing Red Gate Farm.
CANFIELD -- The city is pursuing annexation of a four-acre parcel of township land that it recently purchased.
The city bought the four acres for $280,000 from Michael and Linda Myhal. It's situated near the southwest portion of the city.
Charles Tieche, city manager, said it will get the city closer to its long-term goal of annexing Red Gate Farm.
The city purchased 290 acres of the farm at the intersection of U.S. Route 62 and Leffingwell Road at auction for $2,311,000 in 2003. The remainder of the 298-acre farm was sold to another buyer.
Tieche said there are no plans for that property.
"But if the city owns it, it makes sense for it to be in the city," he said.
The farm has ties to the Manchester and the Kilcawley families, both prominent in the Mahoning Valley.
Farming
Tieche said the city leases the property to people who use it for farming.
"There was a corn crop and soybeans on it this year," he said. "We're generating some revenue in that respect and maintaining the property."
The city also gets mineral rights from gas wells on the site and a person is renting a house there.
At the time of the purchase, some city officials saw it as a potential way to increase revenue and prepare for the possibility of financial difficulties.
Tieche urged council members at that time to spend three to five years deciding how to use the land.
Hearings before Mahoning County commissioners will be conducted before annexation of the four acres can occur. Commissioners must approve the action.