NILES — The Mayor Ralph A. Infante Wellness Center lost its name Wednesday, a move city council members said was to draw in more business from organizations weary of a center named for the former mayor who is facing a hefty criminal indictment.

“Some suitors we are looking at for partnerships at the center are not comfortable with the association (with Infante),” Councilman Barry Steffey, D-4th ward, said.

The Sharkey Drive center in Waddell Park is now known as the Niles Wellness Center after council voted unanimously to push the legislation through in one reading.

Infante is facing a 56-count indictment in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, accusing him of political corruption and acting as the head of an illegal gambling operation that spanned his 24 years as mayor, which ended at the end of 2015. He pleaded not guilty to the felony and misdemeanor charges. A trial is scheduled Aug. 24.

Also named in the indictment is Judith Infante, Ralph Infante’s wife, who is facing nine counts of tampering with records, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and theft; and Scott Shaffer, a Niles employee, facing two charges of theft in office. Both also pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Mayor Tom Scarnecchia, who was a councilmember in 2008 when he proposed naming the center after Infante, suggested council act on the name change, said Councilman Steve Mientkiewicz, D-2nd Ward.

The change, Mientkiewicz said, creates more of a community atmosphere for the center.

“It is a community center. It should be named for the community it serves. Hopefully the change will make the center more inviting and enhance community interest,” Mientkiewicz said.

The city is looking for a way to save money at the wellness center, which in 2016 did not earn enough to support its budget — falling short about $160,000.

Mayor Tom Scarnecchia said the city is looking at possible business partnerships to drive membership rates and visits up, but details for the plan are not finalized.

Scarnecchia said at a March council meeting there is outside interest in bringing revenue-generating programs to the building, but the interested parties do not want to operate in a building under the former mayor’s name.

A plan to lease the center fell through earlier this year when no one submitted bids for the administration to consider. The administration also never found a person or organization to pay to name the center, a dropped measure of the city’s state-mandated fiscal recovery plan.

rfox@tribtoday.com