TRUMBULL CO. Grants OK'd for projects

The Ohio EPA has mandated installation of sewers in a part of Weathersfield Township.
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have approved the use of grants to bring water and sewer lines to a new truck stop in Hubbard and sanitary sewers to a portion of Weathersfield Township.
On Thursday, commissioners signed off on a $191,000 state Community Block Grant to extend Hubbard municipal water and sewer service to the Flying J Travel Plaza site, which is just north of Interstate 80 on state Route 62/7. Terms of the grant require that the funds be matched by the Utah-based company.
The truck stop is set to open in July or August, county planning commission director Gary Newbrough told commissioners during their meeting Thursday.
What's next: Access to the site, including the possible installation of a traffic signal, will be the subject of meetings between Hubbard Township trustees and Ohio Department of Transportation officials, he said.
The truck stop, which will include a restaurant, convenience store and fuel pumps, is projected to employ 120 people.
Sewer project: Commissioners also signed off on putting a $600,000 community development block grant into the $5 million Hilltop Area Sanitary Sewer Project.
Construction on the project, which will bring sewer service to 200 Weathersfield homes, is on hold pending final paperwork for a $3.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said sanitary engineer Thomas Holloway.
He said bids for the project may be solicited in the next few months.
Community Block Grants from previous years for $700,000 have already been earmarked for the Weathersfield project, which is also the beneficiary of a $600,000 Ohio Public Utilities Commission grant. The county issued bonds last year to raise $350,000 for the design work.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency mandated that sewers be installed in the area after it discovered that failing septic systems were permitting untreated waste to drain into roadside ditches.