Mahoning commissioners reviewing sponsorship of religious event


YOUNGSTOWN

The proposed use of $2,500 in Mahoning County hotel bed-tax revenue as a sponsorship grant for a religion-based event Nov. 4-5 at the Covelli Centre was removed from the county commissioners’ meeting agenda to allow an assistant county prosecutor to research the issue as it pertains to the principle of church-state separation.

Commissioner Chairwoman Carol Rimedio-Righetti said Linda Macala, director of the county’s Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, who had placed the proposed sponsorship on the agenda, removed it to allow time for the legal research by Gina Bricker, an assistant county prosecutor.

In response to a Vindicator reporter’s question on Wednesday, Macala said she viewed the Lifeway Christian Resources women’s Christian conference at the downtown center, titled “Living Proof Live,” as a local economic benefit that fits CVB’s mission of promoting travel to the Mahoning Valley, and not as a church-state separation issue.

Bricker said she’d have to do legal research concerning the permissibility of using bed-tax dollars to sponsor the religious gathering.

“It probably will be back on the agenda next week,” Righetti said, adding she believes she would likely support the grant for that event.

Read more on the matter in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.