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LEETONIA--Village Council is looking for a new police chief again.
Council on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Chief Harry Lovejoy Jr. effective Feb. 28. He had held the position for 11 months.
Mayor Kevin Siembida said after the meeting that Lovejoy resigned for personal reasons, but said he had no further comment on the matter. Lovejoy submitted a one-sentence letter of resignation and did not attend the meeting.
Sgt. Richard Glidden will manage the department as council begins its search for a new chief. Glidden joined the department as a part-time patrolman at the same time as Lovejoy and was promoted to sergeant in October to serve as a back-up to the chief.
Lovejoy replaced Sgt. Rick Dattilio, who had served as acting chief for approximately seven months after the sudden retirement of John Soldano in October 2015. Since his appointment, Lovejoy, who resides in Ravenna, faced several adversities when the majority of the department's officers resigned, leaving him responsible for replacing almost an entire staff. Council rebuffed a request to renegotiate his contract at that time and most recently limited the number of hours his officers could work due to budgetary issues.
But Lovejoy had been making strides of late, building a reserve force, saving money in training that he conducts, and helping to secure funding for a school resource officer.
There was no discussion during council's motion to accept Lovejoy's resignation. Council entered executive session following the meeting to discuss employment of a public official.
In other business, council will meet at 6:45 p.m. before the next regular council meeting March 15 in village hall to discuss a proposition presented by Zoning Inspector Bill Pitts on behalf of the Leetonia Community Public Library to purchase the library property north of the facility currently used as a soccer field.
Pitts told council that the library board contacted him regarding the village possibly purchasing the land, which he said the board seemed intent on selling. He said they also asked about what the land can be used for, such as single dwelling homes or a group home.
The land is currently used as a soccer field by the Leetonia Area Sports Association (LASA), but Pitts relayed concerns by the library board regarding parking and liability issues, as well as the upkeep of the field and surrounding landscape.
Siembida said the village administration will need time to discuss the issue and requested the committee meeting prior to the next council meeting.
Also at the meeting, Councilwoman Sue Buchanan reported new vendor information and applications for the Artisans Festival are available on the village's website, www.leetonia.org.
khowell@salemnews.net