Thursday, March 22, 2001
Commissioners will seek a grant and loan for the Weathersfield Township Hilltop Area Sanitary Sewer Project.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Trumbull County commissioners have announced that the county intends to borrow $1 million through the sale of bonds to pay for the construction of a proposed Agricultural and Family Education Center.
The idea for the center has been discussed for several years, but this is the county's first step in seeking funds for the project.
The building will house offices for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Services, Soil and Water Conservation District, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ohio State University Extension Service.
The center will be constructed on about 5 acres in Cortland near the Mosquito Yacht Club. Delphi Packard donated the land in April 2000.
Commissioners said an architectural firm has not been selected to build the structure. In April 2000, the county's Agriculture and Family Education Committee proposed a 9,235-square-foot building that would included a 1,500-square-foot auditorium.
Sewer project: In other matters, commissioners also announced they will seek a $1.2 million grant and a $1.8 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Weathersfield Township Hilltop Area Sanitary Sewer Project.
Sewer upgrades in the Hilltop area became a necessity after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency tested four discharges of sewer water there and deemed them a health threat.
Officials will also seek a Community Development Block Grant of $1.3 million; and an Ohio Public Works Commission grant of $587,745 to pay for the remainder of the project.
Commissioner Joseph Angelo said he was very pleased that the project would soon be underway.
"The people in that area have needed new sewer lines for the last 50 years," he said. "I attended a public hearing on this matter [Tuesday] night, and everyone who spoke was behind this project 100 percent."
Plans are to take bids in April and May of this year, with construction to start in June and to be completed by the end of May 2002. An estimated 230 homes on 24 streets will benefit from the project.