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SALEM -- Sal Salvino officially resigned his At Large seat on Salem City Council at 4 p.m. Tuesday effective immediately in an email to council President Tom Baker.
Salvino previously said he planned to resign after accepting a full-time position as the city's new full-time Housing Director/inspector. His first day on the job is Monday. He also resigned as manager of Bob Evans Restaurant.
"It was an absolute pleasure to serve the public. It was a great learning experience," he said Tuesday night in a phone interview about his council resignation, adding that he enjoyed working with his fellow council members, the mayor and other city officials. "I just enjoyed working with everyone. The number one goal was to serve the public."
Salvino didn't attend the Committee of the Whole or city council meetings Tuesday. Baker announced the resignation during the Committee of the Whole meeting.
After the meetings, Baker said by phone that details about the process to replace Salvino would be announced in a few days. Since Salvino ran as an Independent candidate when he was elected in November 2017, the job of naming someone to fill his unexpired term falls to city council. The term expires Dec. 31 this year.
Council members all wished Salvino good luck and thanked him for all the hard work he did on council.
"I'm happy to see him in this new position," Councilwoman Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said.
Mayor John Berlin said he'll be hard to replace on council.
Even after he announced he was resigning, Salvino was checking to see if a conflict existed between his new job and remaining on council. He had nothing in writing to say one way or another if there was a conflict, and said the best course of action was to resign. If possible, he's going to see if he can request a formal legal opinion on the question.
Salvino had already filed petitions to run for a second four-year At Large city council term, this time as a Republican. He hasn't formally withdrawn his petitions with the Columbiana County Board of Elections.
During the council meeting, council members voted 6-0 to adjust the wage ordinance to set Salvino's salary as Housing Director, starting at $19.69 per hour, then $20.09 per hour after the first year, $20.50 per hour after the second year and $20.91 per hour after the third year. The ordinance also set a wage of $16.29 per hour for a part-time housing inspector position. Current part-time housing inspector Dan Rice is retiring at the end of the month, but Berlin indicated his position would not be filled at this time.
Council members also approved resolutions for the Salem Parks Commission to apply for an Ohio NatureWorks grant for up to $10,000 to upgrade lighting at Centennial Park to LED and to designate Salem as a Bee City USA with the Salem Parks Department as the sponsor.
First reading was held on a proposal to vacate an alley behind the Salem First Presbyterian Church between North Lundy and North Broadway.
Meetings announced include a Rules and Ordinance Committee at 6 p.m. March 23 regarding the trash ordinance and Streets, Alleys and Sidewalks Committee at 6:30 p.m. April 6 regarding an honorary street naming for Howard Tibbs Way on West Second Street between North Ellsworth and Jennings.
mgreier@salemnews.net