Girard Mayor James Melfi was sworn in Wednesday for another term as the City's mayor.

The swearing-in of the Girard officials took place at Girard Municipal Court on Market Street.

Mayor Melfi spoke with 21 News about the last decade for the city and its future.

Melfi recalled that the city was in a fiscal emergency during the decade and has since overcome the financial emergency.

He said the hard work by city officials and employees pushed the city into good financial standing.

The mayor said that the city continues to move forward with improvements to the area.

"We're aggressively making improvements in our infrastructure; it's obvious to people when you drive around the community. You see the streets, you see new equipment, new bridges, and we've been successful."

Melfi also plans to keep safety as a significant part of the city's plan moving forward.

"Safety is a major factor in our community, and we'll continue to make improvements there."

21 News asked Mayor Melfi about plans to use eminent domain to obtain land from a railroad company to expand the bike trail in the city.

Melfi told 21 News, "There are no updates right now; unfortunately, we lost our attorney this past year. We have an extension by the court to continue to acquire the property necessary for the bike trail and to continue to make improvements at the former Ohio Leather site."

The City of Girard has acquired that property, but the city does not yet own the adjacent property.

While the city has not been able to acquire the property yet, Melfi said they would continue the pursuit of that property.