SNOW PLOWING Three townships and county swap routes

From now on, the county will maintain only its roads, the engineer said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- For Mahoning County Engineer Richard Marsico, wider is better.
At least when it comes to plowing snow.
That's why he's ended a longtime road maintenance arrangement the county had with Beaver, Green and Springfield townships. From now on, the county and townships will take care of their own.
"We're clearly responsible for our roads and they're responsible for theirs," Marsico said.
Since about 1950, the county and townships have "helped each other out" by taking care of each other's roads, said Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy engineer. They plowed snow in the winter and mowed grass in the summer.
The agreement affected only the three townships, though neither Marsico nor township trustees knew how or why it started, or why it was limited to those townships. Trustees liked it, though, because it was convenient.
Mapping it out: The townships were divided in half, with the township and county road crews each maintaining all the roads and streets on one side regardless of whether they were county or township roads.
The county maintained everything east of Lisbon Road in Green Township and everything north of South Range Road in Beaver and Springfield townships, Marsico said. The townships handled the other halves.
"It was nice because the drivers could just keep going from one road right on to the next," said Trustee Donald Kuhns of Green Township. "They didn't have to worry about picking up the [plow] blade when they went across a county road."
Marsico recently notified trustees by letter that the county now will maintain only its roads. That means it will start plowing and mowing along county roads in areas the township used to take care of, with the townships left to do the same.
Kuhns and trustees Lee Kohler of Springfield Township and Ron Kappler of Beaver Township said they were puzzled by the letter.
"I think the world of Dick Marsico, but I do not understand why he went this route," Kohler said. "It was a good working relationship for 50 years. We have no idea what brought this on."
Liability: Kenner said liability is the primary reason for the switch. The county has been sued by people involved in traffic accidents on county roads that the townships have maintained.
"We're responsible for those roads, regardless of who goes out and does the work," she said. Maintaining township roads exposes the county to further liability, she said.
Maneuverability also figured into the decision, Marsico said. The county's large snow-plowing trucks have a hard time handling the curvy, narrow township roads. They work better on the county roads, which are generally wider and straighter, he said.
Blossoming populations in the three townships have led to several housing developments, many of which have streets that end in cul-de-sacs.
"Our equipment doesn't work well on cul-de-sacs. It's built for long, straight roads," he said.
Trustees said they'll still end up maintaining about the same amount of road miles, so they are not concerned so much with the financial impact the change will bring. Instead, they're worried about the level of service their residents will get, especially in the winter.
"We've pretty much spoiled our people," Kuhns said. "Our guys are out there before 5 a.m. pushing snow so people can get to work." He wondered whether people who live on county roads will have to wait longer now that the county will be doing the plowing.
But Marsico said he intends to see that the roads get the same attention from his crews that they got from the townships. He'll add one driver to his staff -- by promotion, not by hiring -- which should be plenty to handle the extra work.
"We intend to have the forces and the equipment to go out and get the work done the same as they have," Marsico said.
bjackson@vindy.com