Farrell Councilman Louis Falconi said council should take its opposition to the new site of a district justice's office to county commissioners in person.

Falconi said Monday city council should appear at a commissioners meeting whenever a vote is set on moving the office of District Justice Henry J. Russo from Hermitage to 841 Sharon-New Castle Road in Farrell.

Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor said she agrees the county board and city council members need to hear each other in a face-to-face setting, and said she would be agreeable to meeting with council.

She said she doesn't believe the court issue could be resolved without such a meeting.

"I think we need to get everything out on the table," Mrs. Lazor said.

Commissioners said they chose 841 Sharon-New Castle after William E. Gargano, partner in Garfar Inc., which owns the property, offered to sell the former C's Waffle House building for $130,000, half its appraised value.

Commissioners also cited the relatively inexpensive cost of renovating it for court use. They said it can be done for no more than $80,000, making the total investment $210,000.

Council wants a new building put up on Roemer Boulevard at Spearman Avenue, across from the post office. The city spent $109,000 tearing down a vacant church there and buying additional property.

Mrs. Lazor said building there would cost the county $80,000 to even out the sloped property, $280,000 to put up the building, and $50,000 for a parking lot, an investment of $410,000.

She said she could not justify spending the extra $200,000, and feared that she could lose should taxpayers file a class-action lawsuit claming commissioners spent the money unwisely.

She said commissioners, should they lose such a suit, would be responsible for paying the difference.

"I don't want to put myself or my family in that situation," she said. "I've always been very careful not to misappropriate money."

City council members have said they want to revitalize a section of town that needs help, and Mrs. Lazor said she agrees that's a noble goal.

"I understand Farrell's situation and I would like to abide by their wants and needs," she said. "I'm caught between a rock and a hard place."

Mrs. Lazor said she works on economic development issues with Sharon/Farrell Weed and Seed and Endorse Resistance to All Drug Abuse Everywhere, and has become frustrated at how labor-intensive it is.

"I've seen opportunities come their way and slip away," she said.

Council vowed to keep up its opposition to the former restaurant, and noted the school board has opposed it because of the loss of property tax revenue and proximity to the school and Farrell City Center.

"They need to find another spot," Farrell Area School Board member Michael Wright said Monday.

Councilwoman Helen Marenchin reiterated council's disapproval with how the site was chosen after the commissioners had essentially committed to building at Roemer and Spearman.

"How demeaning to the city of Farrell," she said.