Salem mayor working to increase size of city with 100-acre annexation

By D.a. Wilkinson

People want property to be annexed into the city, officials said.

SALEM — Mayor Jerry Wolford is acting as the agent to help add 99.8 acres to the city.

Wolford said Tuesday that the roughly 52 acres are north of the city in Perry Township in Columbiana County and the remainder are in Green Township in Mahoning County.

The mayor said the people who want their property annexed, “all want to be part of the city.”

The annexation would allow the properties to get city utilities.

The land is undeveloped, according to the mayor.

The area to be annexed runs west from U.S. Route 62 and north from the U.S. Route 62 bypass.

The city also owns two small pieces of land, one at the southern end and one at the north that could be used for city utilities such as water and sewer facilities if growth occurs.

Dan Swindell, the owner of Quaker City Raceway, has undeveloped land involved in the annexation in Green Township, but the raceway is not part of the annexation.

The northern portion of the annexation is Swindell’s property.

Wolford and Swindell have a handshake deal for the city to buy all of Swindell’s property for $1 million, which the city doesn’t have.

The mayor has been promoting annexation because the outskirts of the city are mostly residential areas.

The owners of the property in Perry Township are Ned and Sarah Chappell, Robert McCluggage, who is trustee for his wife, Alice; and Gerald Meals and his wife, Robyn.

They are all Salem residents.

Council approved the measure Tuesday night that will go before the Columbiana County commissioners for approval.

In other action, council voted to put an electric aggregation program on the May primary.

City residents will have to approve FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.’s plan in order to get what Councilman Dennis Groves said would save an average of $30 a year per household.

If approved, the program would run for nine years. But Salem residents could decide to drop out of the plan.

Groves said the $30 is not much in savings, but he said, “It’s the best program there is.”

He added that in terms of saving residents money, “There’s just nothing out there.”

If voters approve the program, the city would get $147,000 from the company for any use.

“It’s not a big deal, but it’s a bit of a windfall,” Groves said.

Council also approved placing a 1-mill, five-year renewal levy for the Salem Parks Department on the May ballot.

Parks Director Steve Faber said the levy would bring in about $189,000 annually. If passed, it would be the second renewal of the tax.

Faber added that he was using a slightly lower revenue estimate for the levy funds because of the slow economy.

wilkinson@vindy.com