Mayor Williams vows to resolve Wal-Mart water issue

YOUNGSTOWN — Mayor Jay Williams says he expects to come to some type of agreement with Wal-Mart officials concerning water at the proposed new store location on Belmont Avenue — but Liberty Township officials will not be part of discussions leading to that resolution.

Wal-Mart representatives earlier this week expressed concern over moving forward with plans to build the store on Belmont Avenue because of a stipulation in Youngstown’s contract for water services requiring the retailer to hire 25 percent of its employees from the city.

Township Administrator Pat Ungaro and Trustee Jodi Stoyak have said the city would be holding up the project with such language and should consider removing or modifying the language in the interest of getting the project completed.

Williams has said the language was created when Ungaro was mayor of Youngstown and would be applied to Wal-Mart just like any other customer.

Now, Williams says he will work with Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart only to come to some resolution.

For the complete story, see Friday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com.