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Wal-Mart, city sign water deal for Liberty
The retail giant pledges to explore more investment opportunities in Youngstown.
YOUNGSTOWN — The city signed a deal to provide water to a proposed Wal-Mart in Liberty in exchange for the retail store superpower’s agreeing to steps that will make it easier for Youngstown residents to be hired at the facility.
Wal-Mart officials would not sign an earlier contract proposal from Youngstown for water services because it required the company to make a best effort to hire city residents for at least 25 percent of its positions at the proposed Liberty location on Belmont Avenue.
The deal signed Friday does not require Wal-Mart to reach that 25-percent minimum threshold.
But Wal-Mart agreed to recruit Youngstown residents through a hiring center it will open within city limits about five to six weeks before the Liberty store is completed sometime next year.
Also, the company will work with the city “to explore future investment opportunities within the city,” Mayor Jay Williams said. That could be a store in Youngstown or some other project, he said.
Major businesses, such as Wal-Mart, are required to make a best effort to hire city residents for at least 25 percent of its jobs in order to get Youngstown water.
Youngstown residents make up about 35 percent to 40 percent of the employees at Wal-Mart locations in Austintown and Boardman, which receive city water, Williams said.
“We believe the recruiting center will result in at least 25 percent of the employees at the Liberty Wal-Mart to be city residents,” he said. “There’s no reason to believe it won’t be 35 to 40 percent.”
Jason Wetzel, a Wal-Mart spokesman, praised the mayor for his work on ironing out this deal.
“It really came down to refining the points” of the deal that would satisfy the company and the city, he said. “We all have the same goal: to have the best workers in our store. We applaud the mayor’s efforts.”
Wetzel said he believes the hiring center will make it easy for the store to reach at least that 25-percent city hire amount.
A few weeks ago, Liberty officials expressed concern that Wal-Mart would cancel the project because of the Youngstown-hire provision in the water deal.
Williams said he was so frustrated by the Liberty officials he would negotiate directly with the company.
Even with the deal, the mayor still sounded frustrated Friday with Liberty officials.
“It is unfortunate that some attempted to negotiate this process through public hysteria and misinformation instead of working in a more productive manner as we have now seen,” he said. “We are pleased that the development is moving forward for the benefit of all communities involved.”
Liberty Township Administrator Pat Ungaro, who was Youngstown mayor when the 25-percent provision was created, said he was happy the deal has come together.
When told of Williams’ comments about Liberty officials, Ungaro said, “I’m glad they put this deal together. I’m not going to look back on this issue.”