WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Leaders in Westerville and Harlem Township announced the intent to merge last week with both areas seeing significant change and growth. Wednesday night, both the city and township held community meetings to see how the public feels about the announcement so far.
Their goal was to answer as many questions as possible and share all the information they can about this plan with the residents since they will get the final say. Harlem and Westerville are working toward a formal merger agreement by August to be submitted to voters for the November general election.
This merger was proposed to help preserve both communities' histories and give residents more power to control future development, especially with Intel's new semiconductor facilities coming to central Ohio.
Harlem Township trustee Carl Richison said change is on the way and they want to have a say in how those changes look.
"One of our hopes is that if this merger works and if we're able to come to an agreement with Westerville, that the people of Harlem would at least have their voices still being heard," Richison said.
Richison said his residents still have a lot of questions including taxes. He said this news has come as a shock to them but, mentioned this plan has been in the works for almost two years.
"Harlem Township is very much a rural community," said Richison. "We want to try to stay as rural as possible. We don't want a lot of super tight growth if possible."
Before the residents make their final vote in November, Richison asks that everyone get the facts first. There is now a website with some frequently asked questions. This is also where you can find dates for future meetings in both Harlem and Westerville.