ST. MARYS, OH (WLIO) - A Marshall Islands Ambassador to the United States will be traveling to St. Marys to address public concerns raised at the October 28th St. Marys City Council meeting.
A United States ambassador to the Marshall Islands will be traveling to St. Marys to address public concerns raised at the October 28th St. Marys City Council meeting.
According to St. Marys Mayor Joe Hurlburt Jr., several members of the public raised concerns that Marshallese communities are buying churches in St. Marys and surrounding communities to house multiple families. In light of these concerns, Ambassador Charles Paul from the embassy of the Marshall Islands will travel to St. Marys from Washington, D.C., and speak with the public at the upcoming St. Marys Council meeting.
Churches are zoned single-family residential.
On Friday, we spoke with Mayor Hurlburt about these concerns.
"The concern was that the Marshallese are buying churches in the area and not necessarily in St. Marys but in surrounding communities, but they did recently purchase a church in St. Marys. People are thinking that they are here to buy churches to house multiple families in them. Well, in our community, churches are zoned single-family residential, so you can't put multiple families in it. So, he is going to come and address things like that. That is not their intention. They purchase churches for a place to worship," explained Mayor Joe Hurlburt Jr., City of St. Marys.
Ambassador Charles Paul will be speaking to the public at the St. Marys City Council meeting on Monday, November 11th.
Ambassador Charles Paul will be speaking to the public at the St. Marys City Council meeting on Monday, November 11th. The meeting will be inside the new St. Marys City Council chambers located at 101 West Spring Street. Ambassador Paul will also be traveling to Celina, as similar concerns have been addressed in Mercer County.
