WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Westerville leaders say more time may be needed for the intended merger of the city and Harlem Township.
The City of Westerville held its State of the City address Thursday night where the merger was discussed.
"We're very aware of the migration of people and all of the infrastructure, utilities, housing and workforce development. Westerville's willing to do our part and we're investigating how we can do that," City Manager Monica Dupee said.
The address followed the city's announcement. Leaders said that this would give residents more power to control future development.
If the proposal is approved by the township and city trustees, this would be something residents in each community would vote for or against in the November election. Since this announcement, Dickey said there have been discussions regarding what she calls a complicated process that's not used very often.
"More time may be needed," City Spokesperson Christa Dickey said. "A November timeline to meet the general election was aggressive from the very start and so some of the feedback we're hearing is that it may be a better opportunity to plan for more public education, more public feedback opportunities."
She said this would also allow city leaders more time to figure out the merger agreement. She also said that even though this is a complicated process, there is a lot of growth going on in the area and she said this impacts both communities and their residents.
"One of the opportunities through this strategic partnership with Harlem is to look at comprehensive thoughtful planning through a long-term lens and see what makes sense for both communities to minimize some of those potential disrupters," Dickey said.
During Thursday's State of the City address, officials discussed roads, additional housing and infrastructure demands. Officials also talked about the partnership with the city's schools, chamber of commerce and the Westerville library.