Summary of January 2, 2018 Facebook Live Session With Galion Ohio's Mayor O'Leary

Galion, Ohio's Mayor O'Leary answered questions and shared information about the city tonight, January 2, 2018, in a Facebook Live session. I wanted to summarize the topics covered and briefly detail his responses to questions here for my readers who don't "do" Facebook.

Galion Municipal Building image By Galionuser (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Topics Covered at January 2, 2018 Facebook Live Session With Galion Ohio's Mayor O'Leary

A lot of topics were packed into a brief presentation by the Mayor tonight. Topics (not in order)  include:

• Rental housing and real estate market in Galion
• Getting a stop light at Bryant (Brandt?) Road - (I think Bryant was a typo from the original poster - because the reply focused on the Brandt Road intersection of State Route 598)
• Getting a Cracker Barrel
• The City of Galion and its RITA Municipality
• Getting jobs in Galion
• Grocery stores in Galion
• Downtown revitalization in Galion
• Galion's road conditions - specifically Libby Lane

Summary of Mayor O'Leary's Responses on Facebook Live January 2, 2018

I replayed the video a couple times to make sure I accurately explain Mayor O'Leary's replies to questions. Read on to get the details.

• Housing: The Mayor noted that housing is in short supply in Galion and that one of the city's longer term goals is making an effort to close the gap in housing and create new housing in the city. He noted that many people have bought or built outside the city because of the lack of housing in the city.
• (Not to be difficult or disagreeable, but I personally find this a little hard to believe and would like to see some numbers or some kind of factual backing on this particular claim - people generally move outside the city for quality of life reasons - PLUS - I drove through town just today and saw three houses for sale in one short stretch of road. 3 empty houses for sale in 1/4 of a city block is a lot! And, it's been like that all over town for a few years - empty houses everywhere. It's just a little hard to believe that anyone would move outside of town because they couldn't find a house  to buy or rent if they looked at all. That's just doesn't make sense... it's not... logical.)
• Cracker Barrel: Nope... There have been no inquiries from Cracker Barrel.
• (Darn... that would have been nice.) 
• Grocery Stores: Geyer's is staying and hoping to extend commitment. No other grocery stores have contacted the city. Grocery stores - independents and small chain grocers have been contacted, though larger stores like Giant Eagle are unlikely to consider a small community like Galion, according to the Mayor. He suggests supporting the local stores that sell groceries, like Geyer's, Save-a-Lot, and Dollar General.
• (I would add Drug Mart to that list. Their quality is top notch and their workers are friendly and helpful.)
• Update on stoplight at Brandt Road: A private developer acquired the old Peco building and wants annexation so the city can put in a traffic light. So, they're trying to annex half of the intersection into the city so they can put a light out there. This will create an area that opens room for three or four more industries at the old Peco site. 
• Downtown Revitalization: is underway, with applications coming in. Current focus is on funding code enforcement and aesthetic improvements.
• Getting Rid of RITA: Nope... it's staying.
• (I linked the RITA website above, so if you aren't familiar with it, you can check it out.) 
• Are Roads Going to Get Fixed - specifically Libby Lane? No. Libby Lane has private streets and it's the managements responsibility to fix it.
• (No response was offered by Mayor O'Leary in regards to fixing other streets in the city.)
• Being a Good Neighbor: Check on neighbors or call the city if you're concerned about not seeing neighbors, and look out for those around you who may be in need.

(Here's a link to the recorded Facebook video feed for anyone who missed the chance to watch this live, too - but it'll only play on Facebook - so I apologize in advance if it won't play for you if you aren't a Facebooker.)

By: Ré