St. Marys council OKs land purchases

ST. MARYS - City officials will purchase two tracts of land totaling nearly 12 acres for $296,275 from Parker Hannifin Corp.

One 7.874-acre tract will be resold to Setex, 1111 McKinley Road, and the other 3.977-acre parcel will be used to construct a road connecting McKinley Road with County Road 33A.

Council members on Monday unanimously passed under suspension of rules an ordinance authorizing the purchase.

Setex will purchase the land to facilitate an expansion, city law director Kraig Noble said. The new road construction "will benefit the whole industrial corridor." The road, he added, would make properties on McKinley Road and County Road 33A more accessible.

Cost for the 7.874-acre tract will be paid immediately to the city by Setex, and funding for the 3.977-acre tract could be recouped in other ways, Noble said.

"It's even possible the cost of road construction may be paid through an economic development grant," he noted.

Money for the purchase has been set aside in the city's budget as negotiations for the deal have been ongoing for about four years, Noble said.

Council members approved suspending the three-readings rule on the ordinance so Parker Hannifin could have the sale closed by the end of the year.

Also on Monday, councilors were reminded by safety service director Greg Foxhoven that this morning, the traffic signals at the intersections of Spring and Wayne streets and Wayne and High streets will become flashing four-way stop signals as part of the city's downtown traffic study. The four-way stop signals will run for 90 days. At that point the signals will be bagged and stop signs erected. Officials will watch for any traffic issues and if none arise, the signals will be removed after 60 days.

The signal at the intersection of Front and High streets has already been bagged and studied. Foxhoven said no serious problems have been observed at the intersection, and that light will be taken down completely by the end of the year.

Earlier this year, Choice One Engineering conducted a traffic study, determined the signals at nine of 13 intersections were no longer warranted and recommended their removal.

Councilors also scheduled the next finance committee meeting at 5:15 p.m. Dec. 3 in council chambers. The meeting will allow committee members and any interested members of the public to offer comments on the proposed 2019 budget, which was unveiled on Nov. 19.