Friday, April 4, 2003
First, sanitary sewers and then home construction, a township trustee says.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- Township trustees have applied for a $1.1 million federal grant to construct sanitary sewers in the Maplewood Park area of the township.
Fred Hanley, chairman of the township trustees and grants coordinator, said Monday that if approved, the money will be used in the target area in the southern portion of the township.
The target area designated based on low incomes is bounded by the Youngstown city limits, state Route 616, Jacobs Road and Lincoln Avenue.
The grant application, Hanley explained, was submitted with the assistance of U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and the Warren engineering firm of Lynn, Kittinger and Noble. Hanley said it was put together in a matter of days because information was used from a previous application.
Concerns
In addition to trustees, the Trumbull County Board of Health and Ohio Environment Protection Agency have expressed concerns about health conditions in the area. Some septic systems don't work well or at all.
"The septic systems are deplorable. In some cases, they're nonexistent," Hanley said.
Hanley said developers won't construct new homes in the area until sanitary sewers are in the ground. They don't want to spend money for infrastructure. The homes are needed, the trustee explained, to improve the neighborhood. "We need to build houses," Hanley asserted.
Hanley indicated that with cuts and possible elimination of state local government funds, trustees might have to dip into the township's general fund to pay the local shares of projects. The township is paying a total of $90,000 on projects with local shares.
The largest amount, $66,000, is for the widening of Lincoln Avenue and the installation of guardrails and drainage pipes under the roadway.
Last week, Trumbull County commissioners authorized the spending of $22,000 for the repaving of Trumbull and Poplar avenues in Maplewood.
yovich@vindy.com