Council hits pause on Parks building purchase

Plan to buy Oak Street property for use as offices referred to committee

SALEM -- City council opted Tuesday to hold off on the proposed purchase of an Oak Street property for the Salem Parks Commission, instead voting to discuss the issue at a yet-to-be scheduled Committee of the Whole meeting.

The ordinance authorizing the commission to purchase the office building was on the agenda, but when Councilman Ron Zellers asked to have the rules suspended to bring it forward for a reading, no one spoke up, so the ordinance never came forward. Councilman Geoff Goll then asked to have the ordinance moved to Committee of the Whole, which includes all seven council members, and all six council members present agreed.

Council members after the meeting indicated a need for more time, since they had just received a copy of the ordinance a few hours before the session, but Parks Director Shane Franks said during his report that the purchase agreement was contingent on the ordinance passing Tuesday night. If not approved, the understanding was that the property owner could entertain other offers for the building which previously served as a doctor's office.

An extension of the time table would depend on the willingness of the owner to hold off until all city council members have had a chance to review the proposal and ask any questions they may have of Franks, the Salem Parks Commission members or city Auditor Betty Brothers, who said during her report that she could answer any questions they had about the financing.

Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, who chairs the Committee of the Whole, was excused from the council meeting, and will be notified of the need to schedule a committee meeting.

"We'll have to ask for an extension," Parks Commission Chairman John Panezott said afterwards.

Parks commission members and Franks stayed and spoke with several of the council members, expressing their concern that others could now

make offers on the property. When asked for her thoughts about what happened, commission member Lucille Karnofel said they were very disappointed. Commission Vice Chair Terry Hoopes said he's confident the sale is still going to happen when city council gets all the information, assuming the seller doesn't change their mind.

"I just wanted to be more informed," Councilman Andrew Null said, noting council members didn't see the ordinance until Tuesday. "It's tough for me to vote on something that I'm not well-informed about."

Councilman Sal Salvino agreed, saying he didn't have the backbone of the information. Councilman Roy Paparodis also said he wanted more time to go over the information. All three of them, along with Zellers, who chairs the Parks Committee, talked with the commission members after the meeting. City council's Parks Committee, which also includes Dickey and Councilman Steve Faber, had met Friday and agreed to forward the ordinance to council.

When Brothers gave her report to council, she offered to answer questions about the sale, but Goll said he was going to recommend the ordinance be moved to Committee of the Whole so all council members could be there and that would give taxpayers an opportunity to ask questions as well as the council members who couldn't attend the committee meeting. All council members had been sent a notice about the committee meeting and its purpose regarding the property purchase.

Mayor John Berlin had already recognized the Salem Parks Commission members for doing their due diligence regarding the property purchase and asked for council members to allow the purchase to proceed, adding that the auditor said the funds were available.

When Franks gave his report about the proposed purchase, Council President Tom Baker asked if it was contingent on the ordinance passing that night and Null asked if there was a timeline, which is when Franks explained the deadline.

Goll said he found it difficult to believe that the parks commission would enter into an agreement, asking council to do this without the opportunity to discover information about the deal. He acknowledged that it came out of a committee meeting, but he also questioned the signing of the purchase agreement before being approved.

Franks explained that the options were discussed during a parks commission executive session and the commission then gave him authority during a special meeting to enter into an agreement, which was contingent on council approval. Franks said he talked with the seller about the possibility that council could require all three readings or not approve it at all.

During the Parks Commission meeting last week, the commission agreed to the purchase and getting a note to finance the deal. The pending purchase agreement was for $95,000, with the down payment coming from money in a parks capital improvement fund from oil/gas lease money transferred by council to the parks and from a fund that had just been sitting there that had come from Perry Township for the parks years ago. The remaining $70,000 was to be financed through a 5-year note which would have to be renewed, with payments stretched out over 20 years. The building was valued at $127,000.

Zellers said he agreed with the idea of going to Committee of the Whole.

Berlin had also suggested considering moving the Health Department into the building and sharing expenses with the parks department for the utilities and mortgage.

In business related to a property owned by the city downtown next to the former Butler building, Berlin requested that a meeting be held of either the Committee of the Whole or the Economic Development Committee to pass a resolution authorizing the Columbiana County land bank to act as agent for the property on a possible deal involving both the 18-foot by 128-foot parcel and the former Butler spot which is now owned by the county commissioners.

Berlin announced that a development deal may be in the works that would involve both properties being turned over to a developer with an "active end use." Berlin couldn't reveal any details about the deal. It was indicated that the likely committee would be Economic Development, but no date was determined for the meeting.

mgreier@salemnews.net