GIRARD — Two men of stature in the city are facing off in the Democratic primary election for mayor.

Nine-year city treasurer and seven-year school board member Mark Zuppo is challenging 22-year incumbent Mayor James Melfi.

Zuppo said he has had new, interesting ideas for years — and he is ready to share them.

Melfi, however, said he wants to build upon the successes he’s accomplished. He said he has been through a lot with the city over the years, including financial emergency, property acquisitions and regionalization, and said a new face in the mayor’s office will not be able to compete with his experience and dedication.

INTERACTION

Melfi, 65, has been the mayor since 2000 and was the city treasurer for 10 years before that. He graduated from Youngstown State University with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1980.

As a small-town mayor, Melfi acknowledged that he can be under a lot of scrutiny, but he thinks that’s because he is closer to the people he serves.

“I was a paper boy. As a paper boy, you’re interacting with the people every day, and I never really lost that,” Melfi said. “The love for that, even after all those years — I may come home frustrated some evenings — but it is the daily challenge, and it’s my drive to make Girard better that keeps it fresh for me.”

Melfi said his priorities if re-elected will be to assist with downtown and industrial improvements, improve the neighborhoods and safeguard the city’s budgetary surplus.

To improve downtown, Melfi said it is important for the city to purchase the Wellman Theater, located on West Liberty Street, and to renovate it. He said this will help bring people to Girard, and it will go a long way in encouraging other businesses to move into downtown.

“There is always a drive to make downtown better,” Melfi said.

“I know it’s election time, so I know there are a lot of things being said that can’t be accomplished. One thing that cannot be accomplished is 1965. There’s not three pharmacies there. There’s not two florists. There’s not two shoemakers. It’s very difficult today to be a small businessman.”

Melfi pointed to the Ohio Leatherworks site, which he said would not have gotten a brownfield remediation grant if the city had not purchased it. He said a private business person could not get a grant to clean up the property.

GRANT MONEY

The same thing goes, Melfi said, for the Wellman Theater. He acknowledged that a public-private partnership sounds good, but he said a lot of work will have to be done to that building before it can turn a profit. While that might not be a smart business decision, Melfi said it is smart for the city, which will be able to get grants, similar to what it got for the Leatherworks property.

Specifically, he said the city is ready to “pounce on” the Appalachian Regional Commission Community Grant. Melfi said this grant will be “groundbreaking” and will trigger many other investments in downtown Girard and the Mahoning River corridor.

Girard council is expected to vote Monday to give final approval for the purchase. It was delayed two weeks ago to wait for an electrical and plumbing inspection. The city is planning to spend $72,900 to purchase the 1930s building. Melfi said at that meeting that architects gave him a $42,000 estimate for the renovation cost.

“Is it going to be difficult? Is it going to be a pain? Is it going to be a burden on me? Absolutely,” Melfi said. “It will be a daily burden like building a house or remodeling a house, just on a little larger scale. It will be a burden, but the results will make it worth it. The results could turn around that block of downtown.”

Zuppo said he does not think the theater purchase is the right move. He said it does not compare to the Robins Theatre in Warren in terms of size, which means it will not have as big of a return on investment.

“You don’t buy a property, then figure out how much it is going to cost to renovate. I think you do your due diligence,” Zuppo said.

ATTENDANCE

Melfi has criticized Zuppo for not attending most city council meetings. Zuppo has said that no one has brought this up until recently.

“I don’t think any elected official should miss council meetings,” Melfi said.

Zuppo said he has informed the mayor’s office staff to give residents his cellphone number for questions. He said he has no problem giving out his cell because as a public servant, he should be as accessible as possible to the public.

“I take every call,” Zuppo said. “I have taken calls from people who I know are calling me to complain. I helped someone with their taxes a few years ago who ran against me. I don’t care who you are.”

Melfi said Zuppo does not attend 85 percent of council meetings. Zuppo said he attends council meetings and finance committee meetings when he can, but noted that Ohio Revised Code does not require it. Zuppo said he has never been asked a question at a council meeting in the nine years and four months he has been the treasurer.

Zuppo said he has other things he is involved with, so he can’t always make it to meetings. If elected, Zuppo said he would be at every city council meeting.

OTHER POSITIONS

Zuppo, 66, has been the city treasurer since 2014 and has been on the school board, where he is president, since 2016. He graduated from Girard High School in 1975.

If he wins the primary, he said he would step down as treasurer and school board president. If he loses, he could run again for the board in November.

“A lot of great people say to think big. Well, a lot of the time, I think we think small. I believe in planning for the future. We have not done the people of this town justice in planning. I think we need plans for everything we do, and I am just not seeing those plans,” Zuppo said.

He said he was on city council in the 1990s, was elected to a fifth term, but never served because Melfi, who was mayor at the time, asked Zuppo to be his part-time recreation director. Zuppo said recreation and working with children have always been his passions.

Because of this, one of his main priorities is to develop the Girard Lakes property.

“I helped to spearhead the purchase of the lakes in the ’90s when I was on council. It is a diamond waiting to be polished,” Zuppo said.

When he was the recreation director, he said he opened up a fishing program and fishing contests at the lakes. He said he was only the director for one year, because the position was going to get cut when the city went into financial emergency, but he did it another year for $1.

Also as park director, Zuppo said he created a sledding hill at Girard-Liberty Memorial Park at a very low cost, but it didn’t continue when his position was cut, nor did the fishing programs at the lakes. Zuppo said the program at the lakes was “self sustaining.”

“I don’t know why they needed to get rid of it. We broke even every year,” Zuppo said. “It’s like the current administration didn’t want to be bothered with it. The same thing happened with the sled riding.”

When people look to come to a town, Zuppo said he thinks they look at schools, safety and recreation. While he commended the schools and the safety forces, he said the city has not done much in terms of recreation since he left.

GIRARD LAKES

Zuppo said there is so much that can be done at the lakes. He said the city should have been working on plans for the site whether it had the money or not, so that when it did get the money, it could begin immediately.

Melfi said the purchase of the lakes is one of three major purchases that put the city into financial emergency. He said the lakes were purchases in the 1990s with the thought of making it a water source and it is now paid off. He said the city has learned over decades that there are no grants to extend water and sewer there because no one lives there. Melfi said it would cost $8 million to $10 million to extend water and sewer to the property.

The property cost $5 million and took 20 years to pay off. Melfi said the city has put the property on the market in the past, and the only bid it received was for $1.2 million.

“It was purchased for water consumption. No one checked the quality of those lakes,” Melfi said. “It’s not a diamond in the rough. It continues to be a white elephant and unless somebody wants to spend $10 million to make $5 million, it will continue to be a white elephant.”

From here, he said it is council’s responsibility to sell property.

DOWNTOWN BUSINESS

Zuppo said he will do everything he can to bring businesses to Girard, as well as work with the business owners who are already downtown to ensure the city government is meeting their needs. If elected, Zuppo said he plans to become more involved with groups such as the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber.

He said he would be open to looking at architectural standards downtown to improve its look. He noted that other communities have agreed to match the funds that business owners put into their facades. Zuppo also said he would support tax abatements, as long as they are connected to jobs.

Zuppo also said he could facilitate a good relationship between city government and the schools.

He criticized Melfi for not posting job openings on the city’s website, which he said is not transparent. Zuppo said he has never seen a posting for the city. He said the city owes it to the residents to put the best people it can into city positions.

“You have to post positions,” Zuppo said.

Melfi said jobs are talked about at council meetings. When the city went into financial emergency in 2001, Melfi said the city cut about 25 percent of city jobs. He said the city has hired some back, but not very many.

Melfi said he did not think the city posted jobs on its website. He said he did not follow job posting closely.

Over the years, Melfi said the public posting of job openings is not something that had been brought to his attention. He said the city accepts job applications daily and has used this method to fill positions when they open up.

After being asked about it, Melfi followed up to clarify that all police and fire positions are published by civil service. He also said that going forward, he said all job openings will be published publicly, including in the Tribune Chronicle.

The candidates

James Melfi

AGE: 65

CURRENT POSITION: Girard mayor

PRIORITIES: Safeguard budgetary surplus, improve neighborhoods and improve the downtown and industrial areas.

Mark Zuppo

AGE: 66

CURRENT POSITION: Girard treasurer and Girard Board of Education president

PRIORITIES: Develop Girard Lakes, ensure transparency in government, build up downtown Girard and promote the city.