Eyes fixed forward
by M. Stewart
As expected, East Liverpool City Council voted Monday to table a Joint Economic Development District proposal with Liverpool Township. No one is against the project in principle, but the 99-year moratorium on annexation written into the initial proposal now appears to be off the table.
I assume what this means is that Mayor Swoger, Dr. Hoffrichter and Mr. Kontnier will attempt to renegotiate a more equitable deal; either that or everyone will walk away, accusing city council of being anti-progress and anti-jobs. We can only hope that doesn’t happen and that everyone keeps eyes fixed forward.
The recent shooting in the St'end doesn't help matters much. What was that all about? Our cops did a good job rounding these guys up before they killed someone. A man going to bed has bullets pelting his house, while another man is running around the neighborhood trying to avoid getting murdered. Sounds like it was a wild night, but hey, the cops caught the bad guys and nobody got hurt. It turned out.
I haven't seen anything like that in my neighborhood. Some evidence of drug activity now and again, yes, but that's tapered off considerably since Mr. Conkle's house was boarded up. So far no gunplay, and I'm hoping it stays that way.
As expected, East Liverpool City Council voted Monday to table a Joint Economic Development District proposal with Liverpool Township. No one is against the project in principle, but the 99-year moratorium on annexation written into the initial proposal now appears to be off the table.
I assume what this means is that Mayor Swoger, Dr. Hoffrichter and Mr. Kontnier will attempt to renegotiate a more equitable deal; either that or everyone will walk away, accusing city council of being anti-progress and anti-jobs. We can only hope that doesn’t happen and that everyone keeps eyes fixed forward.
The recent shooting in the St'end doesn't help matters much. What was that all about? Our cops did a good job rounding these guys up before they killed someone. A man going to bed has bullets pelting his house, while another man is running around the neighborhood trying to avoid getting murdered. Sounds like it was a wild night, but hey, the cops caught the bad guys and nobody got hurt. It turned out.
I haven't seen anything like that in my neighborhood. Some evidence of drug activity now and again, yes, but that's tapered off considerably since Mr. Conkle's house was boarded up. So far no gunplay, and I'm hoping it stays that way.
posted by M. | 10:32 AM
6 Comments:
M.
I too hope that the Twp. Trustees are willing to negotiate. I'm not sure they will but I do hope so. Maybe we could do a trade off like the city could recieve all of the income tax revenue from the JEDD in exchange for an extended "no annexation" clause. That seems just about as fair as the 99 year deal for the twp. I do believe that the reason behind the no annexation deal for the twp is because, if I remember right, there is a state code that sets the minimum size that a twp is allowed to be and if it goes below that size the twp. would absolve into the nearest city. I will try to find that code and post it on here. I would like to see this JEDD happen but it must be a FAIR deal for BOTH sides not just the twp....Let the bickering begin.
Why is it when the city tries to stop themselves from getting screwed, they are accused of thwarting progress and jobs. This was a bad deal from the start. I have heard and maybe someone can correct me on this, that Bosco had already had plans in place for the city to annex this land. I heard from a good source that it was a done deal. Then the next thing you know Mayor Swoger was approached by some township trustees (not just Liverpool Twp) about this JEDD. Then all of a sudden it was a great deal because everyone would benefit. The townships were doing the city this great big favor by creating this JEDD. Then come to find out that part of the deal is the 99 year no annex clause. What a sly way for the townships to continue to prosper at the expense of the city.
I got news for you Mr. Mayor, the townsips don't like East Liverpool. If they did, they would have fixed Penn Ave Ext for you. Don't forget the LGF thing either. They werent too cooperative then were they. Now all of a sudden, ELO is going to annex their land, they want to cooperate. They want to make it look like they are helping the city out, but 99 years of not annexing could hurt the city in the long run.
Heres an idea, if Liverpool Twp wants to cooperate, tell them to become part of the city. Bigger tax base for both, better police and fire protection. Then no one would have to share or worry about annexation at all. Pass that by Continer see what he thinks about that type of cooperation.
Make sure you read the papers or go online. Marc Hoffrichter is in a snit and he's quit.
[Quote:Don't forget the LGF thing either. They werent too cooperative then were they.]
Truth be known, it was a former city MAYOR who screwed this up by not being willing to compromise on the amount, not the townships.
Not that I don't agree with you on your other remarks.
If there is no compromise in 85 out of the 88 counties in Ohio, where the largest city get the biggest share, why should there be one in Columbiana Co? The city should have never been put in this position to have to compromise. Thanks Chuck! We dont miss you as State Rep.
The city would STILL have received the "biggest share" just not as large a share as it had been getting, but that mayor wanted all or nothing...so you got, well, not nothing, but not as much as you would have had the mayor been willing to compromise. You still get the biggest share.
Post a Comment
<< Home