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SALEM -- City council held first reading for the recently discussed animal tethering ordinance in its meeting April 18.
The ordinance, previously discussed April 4, establishes requirements for the tethering of animals within the city, including the length of time an animal can be tethered in a given 24-hour period, what conditions an animal may or may not be tethered in and the minimum length of tether that can be used, as well as the potential consequences of violating these standards. The potential adoption of the new ordinance comes in response to a lack of legal recourse for police and the Columbiana County Humane Agent to act against inhumane tethering situations within the city due to the lack of an official city ordinance addressing the matter.
An ordinance accepting a 10.939-acre property located at 1584 Depot Road for annexation from Perry Township and designating the zoning thereof as M-2 also received its first reading.
Legislation approved included: the issuance and sale of notes of the city of Salem not to exceed $1,000,000 to fund road and street improvements within the city including grading, draining, curbing and paving; and participation in the Ohio Department of Transportation winter contract for road salt for 2023.
In her report Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey said that the city is accepting donations to support the annual city fireworks display. The donations can be given to City Administrative Secretary Debbie Bricker at city hall. Dickey also reminded residents to go vote in the upcoming special election May 2. There will be one city-wide issue and one issue specifically for the 4-a district on the ballot.
In his report City Service Safety Director Joe Cappuzzello said that the city's new street sweeper had been successfully put into service and had begun street sweeping for the season. Cappuzzello also gave an update on the ongoing construction work on state Route 45. He said that work was progressing well and that thus far there had been no traffic flow issues. He thanked residents for their patience during the construction project.
Cappuzzello also urged any residents with questions regarding the city's electric aggregation program to call city hall and request to speak with him, and he will do his best to answer any questions or concerns they may have. He concluded his report by reminding resident's that the city's two new grant programs -- the Residential Sidewalk Grant and Downtown Commercial Building Grant -- are still available and urged residents and local businesses to take advantage of these programs.
Councilman Evan Newman asked how many applications for the program the city had received thus far. Cappuzzello said that while there had not been any official applications at that time there had been about half a dozen requests for further information or clarifications about the grants.
During Pleasure of Council Councilman Dennis Plegge assured residents the annual Super Cruise was well on its way and will be held June 8 through 11, with only a few final details to be ironed out. There will be a Super Cruise meeting 6 p.m. May 4.
Councilman Jake Gano voiced his support of the 3.48-mill, 37-year Salem schools levy on the ballot May 2 that if passed would generate approximately $19 million to cover the local portion of a new K-8 building. Gano said he felt it is "critically important" the district have a new school building, and that he felt it is good not only for students, but for the city as a whole, and would attract new families to live in the city. Gano also reminded residents that the city of Salem, and the Salem School District were two separate entities, with separate budgets.
The city council will meet next at 7 p.m. May 1, a day earlier than usual as council chambers will be utilized for the special election on the regular meeting date of May 2.