HOWLAND Grant is sought to prevent flooding

Four-wheelers will no longer be allowed in township wetlands.
HOWLAND -- Trustees have applied for a $277,000 state grant to divert rainwater from a residential neighborhood into township-owned wetlands.
The project is intended to spare homeowners in the area behind Howland High School from a repeat of the flooding experienced this summer. It includes drainage improvement to prevent rain falling in the Fairhill neighborhood from rolling down the hill end winding up on properties at the bottom, Trustee Rick Clark said.
The improvements would send rainwater toward 200 acres of wetland between the township park and North River Road.
The project was suggested by the Akron consulting firm URS, which was hired by trustees last month, Clark said.
If Howland wins the competitive grant, the township would kick in $83,000.
Work could begin as soon as 2005, Clark said.
At a meeting Wednesday, trustees voted to forbid the use of four-wheelers in township-owned wetlands.
The township has had a problem with four-wheelers ripping up trails in the wetlands, Clark said. The area is used by the Trumbull County Educational Services Center for nature education programs.
Trustees also approved a 10-year, 60 percent break on new property taxes for a $2 million expansion at Atlantis Plastics Injection Molding Inc. on Phoenix Road.
The expansion is expected to create 16 jobs.
The tax abatement will be passed on to Trumbull County commissioners for their approval.
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