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SALEM--The shuttering of the Salem Bureau of Motor Vehicle office is halted.
The recent announcement that the Bureau of Motor Vehicles would not be re-bidding the contract for the Salem office after 33 years of dedicated service to Salem and the surrounding communities, when current Deputy Registrar Robin Gray retires at the end of June, electing instead to shutter the office was met with outrage by office staff and community members of not only Salem, but several surrounding municipalities which utilize the Salem office. However, the state has quietly gone back on that decision according to Gray.
Gray said that as of 2 p.m. Wednesday the Salem office had been reinstated to the bidding list. However, Gray said that they would still need to go through the bidding process, something that she and her intended successor Office Manager Erin Ohlin had already been preparing for prior to the initial announcement, and that nothing would be set in stone until May.
"Hopefully there will be no interruptions or issues, and things will just flow smoothly like they have for the last 33 years now," said Gray.
In the Jan. 16 city council meeting Gray said that the bureau attributed its decision to an alleged decline in transactions, and an anticipated decline in demand caused by the ability to renew a driver's license online, or purchase an eight-year license, both of which Gray disputed. Gray had also said the bureau claimed that the continued operation of the Salem office would draw business away from the Lisbon and Boardman offices, which could make them non-viable in the future.
However, the efforts to push back against that decision were met with widespread community support from not only the residents of Salem and the surrounding communities which also take advantage of the Salem office, but by city, county, and even state elected officials. Gray was incredibly grateful for this support taking time to thank City Councilman Ron Zellers and City Councilwoman Sara Baer, Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey, Columbiana County Republican Party Chairman David Johnson, Senator Michael Rulli, Representative Monica Robb Blasdel, and above all the community.
"I want to thank all these people because they were incredible, and obviously the community as well, the community has truly been awesome," said Gray.
Gray particularly emphasized Zeller's and Baer's contributions, noting that the day they learned of the bureau's decision he had been in contact to provide his support, and suggesting Gray bring the issue to the city council, and that he was the first official "to take interest" in the situation.
"I especially want to thank Ron Zellers and Sara Baer for their support, they were fantastic," said Gray.
Had the Salem office been shuttered Lisbon would have been left as the only office in all of Columbiana County, with the next closest offices in Alliance and Boardman, a substantial increase in the required travel distance for not only many Salem residents, but those of surrounding communities which take advantage of the Salem office.
Gray said that she planned to attend the city councilÌs next meeting on Feb. 6, to personally address them and thank them for their support.