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Mayor vows deal with Girard over V&M is near
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Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams
YOUNGSTOWN — A deal with Girard to share tax revenue from a potential V&M Star Steel expansion will be done by late next week, Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams vowed today.
Williams made the statements even though Girard Mayor James Melfi said just a day earlier that the tax split is a “major obstacle” in getting a contract between the two cities finalized.
“By this time next week or the end of next week at the latest we’ll have an agreement in place,” Williams said.
Williams and others involved in negotiations have said in the past that the deal would be done at certain times.
“We keep saying that,” Williams acknowledged about statements concerning previous statements about a final deal that has yet to materialize.
Despite failing to work out a deal with Girard and Melfi’s public comments about the two cities being far apart, Williams said today, “We believe we are very close to an agreement.”
Officials with the two cities are in a closed-door meeting now to discuss how a 2.75 percent corporate-profit tax would be shared if V&M Star Steel decides to build a $970 million expansion here.
Also today, Youngstown City Council voted 7-0 in opposition to Issue 3, a state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot to build four gambling casinos in Ohio.
For the complete story, read Thursday’s Vindicator or Vindy.com
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Comments
It is stupid of Williams to make this prediction. It is vastly more stupid of that moron melfi to stonewall this deal. Close the deal, sign the documents and then announce a victory. To do so before a deal is sealed is to invite disaster. What a bunch of morons that run/ruin this job-hungry area.
Youngstown is the aggressor city in this case. The only answer for the surrounding communities is collective security. When will Youngstown be out to annex Boardman, Austintown, Liberty, or Canfield Township; areas that Youngstown supplies water to, in order to impose its high local income tax? The surrounding communities need to band together to confront the dangers of this expansionist Youngstown. V&M won't commit to this expansion, and it would be foolish to hand over title to the property until they do so. The land in question is not worthless, as it is more or less flat and has access to rail and I-80. After this "stimulus" money is spent to reclaim it, it will be prime for many industrial uses. The project V&M proposes only provides 2-2.5 jobs per acre, and a typical industrial park has much higher densities than this. Highest and best use?
Foxtrot your talk about collective security is the exact reason our economy does not grow. You make it sound like we are separate little countries in our own little globe. That is the exact foolish reason we cant move quicker on things...ridiculous parochialism. Do you think Dallas Texas, Nashville, and other large cities have these issues? No.
It is worthless land to all except V&M. Dont you think leaders in the Valley have been trying for years to get that land developed? And its been Girard's forever, what have they done with it? This project would be one of the largest economic development projects in the United States (FYI the United States is the place that exists outside Austintown, Boardman, Girard, Youngstown, Niles, and Lowellville). Its time for closure, and lets hope those at the table see to its closure.
I agree with Erplane. We need this expansion. Lets stop acting like children and being greedy and start being adults. Look at the long term here. This will benefit all of us.
This land is not worthless, after remediation it could be used for a nature preserve. Are nature preserves worthless, Erplane? This project will NOT benefit all of us, DonHarshbarger. It certainly will not benefit those who live nearby and have to suffer with increased noise and increased air pollution. Furthermore, all First Energy customers will have to pay higher electric rates so V&M can get subsidized electric.
This plant will use clean tech, its not going to create pollution. And can you hear the existing plant from where you are now? And yes, 400-500 jobs at $50k a year benefits us all. These people would buy homes, new washing machines at Best Buy, new clothes at Target. Its called a multiplier effect, and this plant would have enormous benefits to us all.
A nature preserve? That is funny. How many people would that employ? Tax revenue? Funny.
It's all about the profit tax money income now. If Mayor Jay really wanted those 500 jobs to come, he would share equaly with Melfi. He doesn't and his method of calculation utilizes past years data instead of current data that shows V&M profits down low. Melfi is right to holdout for the correct amount of profit tax income. Once again Mayor Jay shows us why regionalization will never work in the valley - Y-town is too piggy!!!! Blame Mayor Jay - not Melfi on this holdout.
Erplane...Clean tech..HA! I guess you do not know how the process works. You cannot hear the plant because it is not running due to lack of orders.
Why can't a company that wants to expand BUY the property? It was/is for sale. Why do we have to give away what we do not have to get a company to do anything around here?
Don't you think the execs at V&M are looking out over the area and having a chuckle at the hoops we are forced to jump through just to get a POTENTIAL expansion that market forces do not support?
Ask V&M how these talks went in Houston, TX and Oklahoma.....