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SALEM -- The issue of 33 properties with deed restrictions on Beechwood Road, Countryside Drive and Hampton Place mandating annexation into the city may not be settled after all.
In the Oct. 30 Economic Development Committee meeting the Perry Township trustees announced that after meeting with Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson it had been discovered that Laurie Butcher's property, the first in a chain reaction that would result in the 33 properties becoming contiguous to the city and requiring annexation, was not actually contiguous with the city. Butcher's property ends at the edge of the roadway, leaving a span of 30 feet of county property between it and the opposite property.
Trustees said they had received two legal opinions that the properties could not be considered contiguous and that annexation could not be mandated.
While City Law Director Brooke Zellers said he had not yet received the documents in question to review in Wednesday's city council meeting, which may have been sent to the incorrect email address, Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said that there was an additional clause to Butcher's deed restriction not present in the Hampton Place properties. Dickey explained that while she agreed the township and city need to come to some agreement on how future annexations should be handled to prevent issues like this from occurring in the future, the second clause mandates annexation not only if the property becomes contiguous with the city, but if the properties across from hers south of Beechwood Road became part of the city.
"As for Ms. Butcher's property, if you read her restriction, it is a little different than some of the other restrictions out there in Hampton Place which do say contiguous with the city. Hers has a second clause that says she is required to annex if she becomes contiguous with the city, and it says also if the property across from her south of Beechwood comes into the city she is also required to annex, and I believe, I do not know, but I believe that was put into her deed possibly because of that road situation. So just some food for thought to think over when we're deciding how to address this, that she has an additional requirement to annex," said Dickey.
Many in attendance also discussed the results of Tuesday's General Election, with Dickey thanking voters for their faith and everyone who supported and assisted her campaign, and God for seeing fit to give her the opportunity to continue serving as mayor. Dickey also thanked her opponent, Councilman Dennis Plegge, for his kind comments after the election results had been announced.
"I want to say a word of thanks. I want to thank God for including me in his plan, I want to thank my husband and my family, especially my sister-in-law Beth, for supporting me and helping throughout this campaign and keeping me calm, to the Republican Party for their faith in me and my abilities, to Joe Cappuzzello for his tireless door-to-door and sign placement, everyone who donated to my campaign, everyone who hosted a sign. To the voters of Salem who made this possible, I'll do my part to work tirelessly for the good of Salem. I also want to thank Mr. Plegge for his kind words last night even through his disappointment; it took a strong man to do that," said Dickey.
For his part Plegge once again congratulated Dickey on her victory and said he took pride in the mayoral race's level of voter involvement. Plegge also said he intended to continue serving the city through organizing city events like holiday parades and the annual Salem Super Cruise.
"I'd like to congratulate Mayor Dickey again. I think we ran a pretty clean race together; you vote for her or you vote for me and that's the way it's supposed to be. It wasn't like on the national level where they bite each other's heads off. I'm going to continue with organizing events in Salem such as the Salem Super Cruise and parades and serving the city. I am very proud of both Mayor Dickey and myself for waking up the city of Salem on how important it is to vote," said Plegge.
Councilman Steve Faber echoed his sentiments from election night, congratulating Sara Baer on her victory in the race for the First Ward seat.
"I'd like to offer my congratulations once again to Ms. Baer. We had a good campaign, as well, and her campaign was better because she won," said Faber.
Councilmen Jake Gano and Evan Newman, both of whom have been strong proponents of the Salem Schools levy, thanked Salem voters for offering their support and passing the levy. Gano highlighted the approval of the levy as a "boost" for the community, while Newman noted his excitement for the future of Salem's students who will be able to take advantage of the new building, including his own daughter.
"I'd just like to say thank you to all of the Salem voters for passing the school levy. I think that's one of the greatest things we could have done. It's a huge huge boost for our community, so thank you to all the voters," said Gano.
"I'd like to echo Mr. Gano's point. I'm very pleased to see the levy passed for the new school facility. It's very exciting for the city of Salem, selfishly for my daughter, and for all the future children that will use the facility," said Newman.
Zellers and Councilman Jeff Stockman both not only congratulated the individuals who had won their election, but all those who ran for office, noting the difficulty and importance of doing so and participating in the democratic process.
"Congratulations to everybody that was successful in their elections, and a big thank you to those who weren't for participating in the process. Having been through it a time or two myself I know it's difficult and I appreciate them taking the time and effort to get involved," said Zellers.
"I just want to congratulate everyone that was on the ballot, whether it was for the city or the county, because it takes a lot of courage to run for city service. Some of the races didn't have that many votes involved, and it shows the importance of every vote out there, as well," said Stockman.
The city council will meet next at 7 p.m. Nov. 21.