Tuesday, August 19, 2008
LIBERTY — Plans to build the much anticipated Wal-Mart Supercenter on Belmont Avenue are now on hold indefinitely, and the city of Youngstown is at the heart of that decision, says a township official.
Township Trustee Jodi Stoyak said Wal-Mart officials have put plans to build the store on hold. She said water supply issues with the city of Youngstown are at the core of the decision to put the brakes on the project.
“This is very disturbing to me and will be disturbing to the rest of this community,” she said.
According to Stoyak, Wal-Mart officials left a message on the voicemail of Township Administrator Pat Ungaro today saying that the company was ready to go out for bids in the building process, but Youngstown informed the company that it would be required to hire 25 percent of its workforce from Youngstown in order to receive city water.
But Mayor Jay Williams said, “The city of Youngstown’s water application has been in affect for over 20 years.”
Williams says the application was put in place by Ungaro, a former Youngstown mayor. Williams said he last spoke with Ungaro last week, and has attempted to reach him about the issue.
“... If this [building] program is being put on hold, it is because of the incompetency of either Liberty or the people at Wal-Mart.”
Williams said he first heard of the issue through the media.
Stoyak said Wal-Mart does not want to agree to hire 25 percent of its employees from the city because doing so would tie the company’s hands in future hiring practices.
She said the request from the city deletes the possibility of jobs for anyone in the area, including the city.
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.