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Salem annexation plan proceeds
The city may get federal funds to buy land north of the city.
SALEM — Mayor Jerry Wolford said Tuesday he is proceeding with plans to annex the Quaker City Raceway property right after a woman asked him not to.
Loretta Price said she had moved to Salem in September and had questions about the proposal.
Wolford and raceway owner Dan Swindell have agreed to a $10,000 option to buy the property at an estimated cost of $1 million.
The raceway and allied buildings are on 170 acres in Green Township in Mahoning County. The property does not adjoin Salem, but Wolford said the property could eventually be annexed to the city. About half of the property could be used as an industrial park. He said the industrial parks in Salem are full.
But Price wonders about the costs of annexation, water and sewer lines, and legal fees.
Wolford said the estimates for the project were just that, “not exact figures.”
“It’s wrong to use public money to purchase private property,” she said.
Wolford then told council that U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson has earmarked $850,000 in federal funds in the 2011 appropriations.
The money would be used to purchase the land and buildings.
The earmark is not a sure thing, the mayor said.
“We may see all of it, some of it or none of it,” Wolford said.
In other action, James Armeni said the city’s new health department should be ready to operate June 1.
The city decided to restart its health department after the Columbiana County Health Department failed to provide services, according to city officials. Council on Tuesday approved $67,965 in funding to run the new program for the rest of the year.
Wolford also said he had given a proclamation to Dale E. Shaffer, who has written a number of books about Salem’s past. Wolford said Shaffer is 80 years old.
In other business, Wolford said Salem High School students will be starting a drive to collect 170,000 cans of food to support local food pantries.
Councilman Earl A. Schory II complained that council members were not following rules about having items referred to committees for consideration Instead, he said, items were coming up for a vote with no discussion.
“If we have rules, we should follow the rules,” Schory said. “I’m going to start voting no because a proposed ordinance has not been to committee.”
In one example, council approved an ordinance to apply for a grant for about $147,000 in equipment for the fire department. However, the ordinance didn’t describe the equipment or how it would be used.
Councilman Dennis Groves, a former city fireman, said the equipment may be breathing equipment. He said the breathing equipment in use now may be the same equipment he used when he was a firefighter 25 years ago.
wilkinson@vindy.com